Red Eyes
by Obsessiveangel
Summary: Following a major defeat, the RRB find themselves forced into a good and honest life. While Butch and Boomer adapt to this change rather quickly, Brick finds himself struggling with his position, falling from a aggressor to a mere victim of isolation and discrimination. In a desperate search for consolation, Brick makes a decision that could fatally change his new fate.
1. Chapter 1: Part 1

_Disclaimer: The PPGs aren't mine but more importantly, this story contains self-harm, in case any of you are sensitive to or uncomfortable with such issues. I would also have liked to add the issue of depression but I do not know if this is an accurate representation so I'm just going to leave it as sorrow and distress. _

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The shrill timing of the school bell was an indication of release for most students. However, I wasn't like anyone else, in every sense of the term. As everyone started packing up the stuff even while our teacher was talking, I continued slumping in my chair and staring straight ahead.

Well, it wasn't like I even had anything to pack since I didn't bother to take anything out when class started.

"Brick, can I see you after class?" Ms Winters asked. Some of my classmates sniggered at this, casting mocking glances at me as they streamed out of class. I scowled in response but I got up and walked to her nonetheless, slinging my bag on one shoulder.

Ms Winters passed me a couple of papers. "Well, I'm surprise you actually did them," she sighed. "You got a perfect score. A huge improvement from the actual test, I would say."

She fixed me a hard, knowing look and I started looking through the paper. It was about a week ago when she had given us the surprise test. The class had failed, naturally but the only reason I failed the test was because I merely handed it in with my name written on it. But being that annoying and persistent brat she is, Ms Winters had insisted that I actually did the paper, which I did and I managed to score a full hundred marks.

"I don't understand what's going on in that mind of yours," she continued. "With your capabilities, you can be in an advanced class or you can skip grades but you're not putting in any effort to even complete your tests. It's because of that you're here."

I wasn't so keen on continuing the conversation because I knew that all she was going to do was compare me to Blossom.

"Can I go now?" I asked, stuffing the test into my bag. Ms Winters shrugged, turning back to the stack of papers she had on her desk. As she started gathering her things, I walked out of class. I was starting to get really hungry and I wondered what my brother had prepared for lunch.

I ended up bumping into him in the hallway. Boomer was carrying a bunch of art supplies and he seemed to be in a hurry. Yet, he stopped and smiled at me.

"Hey, Brick. I got club after this so I can't make lunch for you. Could you go grab something for yourself?" he asked. He sounded apologetic but from the way he was glancing at his friends who were waiting for him down ahead, I figured he really couldn't be bothered if I ate or not.

"Yeah, okay," I murmured.

"Butch has football training so the both of us will be home quite late. See you later!" He didn't even glance back as he ran off and joined his friends.

I started walking out of school, passing by the field in the process. Butch was there with a couple of jocks whom he now called his friends. I think our eyes met but he quickly looked away, probably pretending not to have seen me.

I honestly wondered if my brothers were ashamed of me, especially ever since we had been forced into the position that we were in.

Around a year ago, the girls, together with the American military, staged an attack on all three of us. No matter how hard we fought, eventually, it resulted in surrender. Well, I still wasn't sure who surrendered because I was knocked out. I guessed they realized that negotiating with my brothers would be a better option that with me so their priority was to get me out of the picture. When I woke up, the fight was over and I was in jail, stripped of my powers from Antidote X. We were given a choice to turn over a new leaf or face life imprisonment. Honestly, it wasn't actually a choice, if you ask me.

The conditions were as such: we were to remain good and the government will make sure we survive by pumping in money but if we broke any laws, depending on the severity we would be awarded either a life or death penalty.

Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just let them kill me earlier on. It would be better for me at least.

I wasn't even the one who surrendered.

"Hey, hey, hey, look, it's the loser again." The snigger obviously came from the one and only Mitch, who had really nothing better to do with his life after school and so he resorts to making my life a living hell.

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Mitch was with his minions as usual. But they were honestly too irrelevant for me to actually remember their names. He placed an arm around my shoulder and grinned at me.

"What's the poor old baddie going to do today? Rob a convenience store? Litter in the park? Or maybe... you're going to steal candy from a kid," Mitch chuckled. I sighed and pushed him away.

"I'm going home," I snapped, tugging at the shoulder strap of my bag and starting to walk forward.

"You've really fallen a lot, haven't you?" he wondered cheekily. "You used to be the coolest among you three brothers but now, Butch and Boomer are way above you."

I shrugged, continuing to walk forward. They followed after me, obviously intending to pester me further. I seriously had no idea why he took pleasure in pushing me till I was on the brink of snapping his neck every single time but he did it and it seemed to have evolved to his past time. I tried to block out what he was saying but I couldn't remain completely oblivious to it. The words hurt but I had to bear it. Eventually, he did leave me be (or so I thought).

I headed over to the convenience store. Taking a basket, I walked over to the end of the aisle. I was running out of coffee at home. Might as well stock up. I filled the basket with a few cans and tossed in some snacks. The government pumped in whatever money my brothers and I wanted. We could easily afford plenty of food. As I debated between two brands of chocolate, a conversation caught my attention.

"Hey, that kid is one of them, isn't he?" I glanced over at the corner of my eyes and saw two ladies (probably housewives) huddled over at a corner. One was pointing at me. They probably hadn't noticed me watching since my hair shielded my eyes nicely and they were obviously whispering not to catch my attention. But since my hearing was way better than any human's, I could hear them clearly.

"Are you sure?" one of the ladies asked.

"Yes I am! Just look at his eyes! The only person in this town who has red eyes is that boy!" the other one said.

I hurried over to the cashier, taking along both the bars. I had more than enough money anyway. Buying an extra chocolate bar wouldn't hurt my pocket.

I wanted to leave the place as fast as I could but there was a long queue at the cashier and I ended up having to wait. Maybe it would have been better if I just left and starved myself till Boomer reached home. Or I should order takeout (though I was starting to lose my appetite as time went on). As I looked around the place impatiently, my eyes fell on the shopping basket of the person in front of me. It was piled with low-fat and sugar free chocolate bars and I found myself wondering how people even managed to eat such monstrosity.

"Hey! Hey, you!" My head snapped up at the voice and I realized that the girl in front of me was staring at me hatefully, with her free hand on her hip.

"What?" I asked.

"Why're you staring at my ass?" she questioned, leaning forward with a frown.

"Excuse me? What?" I muttered, almost gasping in disbelief.

"You saw it didn't you?" she asked, turning to her friend beside her. "He was staring at my ass."

"He totally was!" the other girl agreed. "Slimy pervert."

"I wasn't staring at your ass!" I insisted.

"Sure you weren't!" the friend scoffed. "Look here, I know she's hot and all but someone like you will never get into her league. Screw off."

"Don't antagonize him," the girl warned. "What if he rapes me in anger or something?"

"I wouldn't do that!" I argued.

Even if I used to be a villain, there was no way I'd have resorted to something as disgusting and lowly as that of rape. I wouldn't even have beaten up someone who was weaker than me. Rape was entirely out of the question. But it didn't seem like the girls realized that. They probably had lumped me in with all other villainous guys they had ever known.

"You're… that guy who's under the watch of the government, aren't you? They said that you're the only one in town with red eyes," the girl said. "I'm… kinda worried for myself now."

"Like I said," I snapped, raising my voice to make a point, "I won't do such a thing!"

"Hey, stop picking on her!" I felt someone grab me by my shoulders and I was turned to look at a boy who seemed around the same age as me.

"I wasn't picking on her!" I insisted.

"You expect me to believe that you weren't picking on her when you're such a lowly degenerate?" he snarled. "Get out of our town, you red-eyed bastard."

I had it. I pushed his hand off me and dropped my basket. I picked up a packet of bread and walked over to the counter, pushing through the queue. I slammed a fifty-dollar note on the counter and turned around.

"Keep the change," I muttered.

Ignoring all the cries of outrage behind me, I walked out of the supermarket, heading towards the direction of my home. Deciding that I wanted to get home as fast as I could, I headed through the alleys, which once had seem so welcoming to me. But now, it only made me feel uncomfortable.

"Looks like someone got chased out of the supermarket."

Mitch and his buddies were lying in wait for me, proving to me, once again, their lack of productive abilities in life. They pushed themselves off the walls they were leaning against and walked over to me. I stopped, narrowing my eyes as I fixed them on him. The four of them surrounded me and I mentally prepared myself for an attack.

"What's the matter, Brick? Too scared to stand up for yourself?" Mitch asked, snickering.

"I wouldn't want to waste any effort standing up against you," I replied flatly.

"Let's see about that, shall we?" he mused. He grabbed me by the collar and pushed me backwards. Someone's arms wound around my arms, holding me backwards and as much as I struggled (without using my powers), he had a firm grip on me that wouldn't loosen. Mitch walked closer to me, cracking his knuckles. His other two buddies stood behind him. One of them was holding a phone in his hands.

"Make sure you record everything," Mitch chuckled. He reached over and pulled the zipper of my jacket down.

"Let me go," I snapped. He replied by slamming his fist into my abdomen, with a force that caused me to black out for a moment. I had to give it to him. He was strong. Mitch continued laying punches on me, making me gag and cough. My body was itching to retaliate and to break free of my capturer's arms and pound the hell out of Mitch. But I knew that he wanted me to do so. Therefore, the video. He merely needed to trim it to show me beating him up and that would be the end of me.

Just why did everyone seem so interested in tormenting me?

The person behind released me and as Mitch laid his final punch, I was thrown back to the ground, splashing into the grimy water below. Mitch grabbed me by my shirt again, pulling me up and pushing me against the wall roughly. My vision blurred from the impact and I squeezed my eyes shut, fearing that my nausea might overwhelm me.

"You've fallen so low, Red," he laughed. "Man, this feels good. Come on, boys."

My knees failed me and the moment he released me, I slid down till I was seated on the ground. I sat in darkness for a while and when I opened my eyes, they were long gone. In front of me, on the ground, lay my discarded bread, which had been trampled upon till beyond consumption during the scuffle. It didn't matter, I suppose. The attack had taken my appetite along with all my pride.

I… hated my life…

I closed my eyes again as I leaned my head on the wall. When I opened them once again, the sky had gone dark and the stars were out. I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep. Slowly, I got up on my trembling legs. My whole body was aching so badly. It was hard for me to even pick up my bag. My stomach stung from not having eaten from hours, worsened by the multiple punches it had accepted.

It took me ten minutes to get home and my brothers were already there when I entered the apartment we shared.

"Hi Brick, where had you been?" Boomer asked, stirring something in a pot. He turned to me and his eyes widened. "Did you get into a fight?"

"A fight?" Butch peeked at me from the couch, frowning.

Boomer pulled me into the kitchen and pushed me down onto one of the chairs. Butch walked in carrying a first aid kit as Boomer pushed my tee up and studied my body.

"These will fade off after a while," Boomer murmured. "Really, Brick? Who'd you kill?"

"Don't worry, he didn't even fight back," Butch replied, smirking.

"How'd you know that?" Boomer questioned.

Butch pulled out his phone and grinned. "I saw the video. Mitch sent it to the Captain and he sent it to the rest of us."

I snatched the phone out of Butch's hands and watched as the messages continued pilling up, calling me different degrading and insulting names and terms. As I looked through the conversation, I saw Butch's reply.

"This is… funny to you, Butch?" I asked softly.

Butch blinked and snatched his phone back. "D-Don't read my messages! That's an infringement of my privacy!" he snapped.

"Butch!" Boomer hissed.

"Of course," I sighed, getting up and picking up my bag. My heart was thumping in my chest and I felt a lump rise in my throat. "I get beaten up and he's worried over his privacy."

"Come on, Brick, lighten up… It's all in good fun," Butch laughed. "Come on, it's not like you died or anything!"

"Wouldn't it be too late if I really died?" I wondered acidly. I pushed past him, walking out of the kitchen. My eyes were burning and I forced myself to keep them open.

"Wait, Brick! What about dinner? I'm cooking beef stew," Boomer called out from behind me.

"Beef?" I grumbled. "I hate beef. You know that."

"Well, Butch insisted-"

"It's alright. I'm fine," I muttered, feeling annoyed from how my brothers had seemed to have completely disregarded me. I could faintly hear Boomer and Butch arguing in the kitchen and I slammed the door to my room shut. Their voices were still reaching me. In a desperate attempt to completely silence them, I walked to my closet and pulled open one of the drawers, pulling out a vial from a collection I had. Without a second thought, I drank the liquid empty.

Antidote X had immediate effects. Their voices faded off but at the same time, the pain and fatigue I was feeling intensified. I got up and stumbled into the bathroom, stripping myself in the process. After I turned on the faucet, I took a longer-that-usual shower, standing with my back leaned against the wall as the water fell down my body. The hot water was almost soothing and for a slight moment, I could forget the pain. I closed my eyes and groaned.

Why did I feel so tired lately?

After a while, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I had completely forgotten to take my towel along and if I simply walked out, I was going to end up wetting my room. I stood by the sink, watching the mirror quietly. It was fogged up so I reached over and wiped it with my hand, clearing up the vapor and revealing my reflection. Just like me, my reflection was striking in every way. My flaming hair and blazing red eyes were merely begging for attention. Maybe that's why I could never succeed as a villain. I stood out too much. And it seemed like this reason would once again be my downfall. I stood out way too much to let anyone forget about me.

My hair was one thing. There were a few people had red hair. But my eyes were an entirely different story. No one had red eyes. The only person in the whole city that had red eyes was me. And everyone was aware of that fact. My brothers had green and blue eyes, just like a lot of other people. They could blend in easily enough for everyone to forget about them.

But no way was anyone going to forget the terrifying red-eyed kid.

Why was I the only person stuck with red eyes?

I continued staring at my reflection and the longer I did, the more I felt that my eyes were hideous. No ordinary child would be born with such eyes. They were plain evidence of the fact that I was not normal.

I was a monster.

I placed my left hand over my closed eye, pushing my finger against it, almost digging it out. If only I could just replace it. I tried putting on contacts before but I absolutely hated the way it felt. Maybe I should try to bear with it and hide the color of my eye instead. My hand dropped to my side and I opened my eye again, staring at the crimson pupils.

If I weren't bad and evil, would I have found my red eyes beautiful? Would anyone have? People seemed to find strange things either beautiful or disgusting. Since I was evil, my red eyes were hideous. But if I were good, would my red eyes have been icons of beauty instead? Would anyone have actually looked past my flaws and admit that I was practically a simple human?

No, no. What was I thinking? I wasn't human.

Repulsed at the sight of myself, I clenched my fist and slammed it into the mirror. The glass shattered from the impact, slicing at my skin and drawing blood. I stared at my hand as the numbing pain overcame me, blood flowing out steadily and staining whatever surface it touched.

I turned on the tap and held my hand under the water. My wounds stung at the touch of water but as the physical pain from my old and new injuries started intensifying, the pain I felt within started receding. I could feel a grin forming on my face. It felt so relieving. The release and freedom it gave my heart and mind was welcoming.

I… wanted… more…

With a shaky hand, I picked up a broken piece of glass, holding it over my wrist. The water continued flowing. As I pressed the sharp piece against my skin, hard enough to draw blood, I watched the blood and water mix, the transparent liquid morphing into dark scarlet.

"Brick! Are you in there?" Boomer's voice broke me out of the trance I had gotten into while staring at the water.

"Yeah… I'm… gonna be out in a minute. Give me a moment!" I hurriedly washed the stray blood off my sink. My wrist was still bleeding and I immediately wrapped a towel around my wrist, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Brick, are you alright in there? You sound strange."

So Butch was outside too.

"Yeah, I am. Give me a minute!" I replied, hastily shoving the pieces of glass into the bin, cutting my hand more in the process. Luckily, they were slight scratches and they didn't cause any bleeding. I took another towel and wrapped it around my waist, opening the door slightly and peeking out.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Are you okay? You were in the bathroom for an awfully long time," Boomer replied.

"Yes, I'm fine… I was just… thinking in the shower."

"Oh… Alright then," Boomer said, unconvinced. "Are you sure you don't want any dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said, forcing out a smile and nodding at him.

"Well, then," Butch said, scratching the back of his neck as he bit his lip. "I'm sorry about laughing."

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it!" I laughed, though it was all forced. Somehow, it still did seem convincing and my brothers relaxed.

"Then, we'll get going. Have a good night, Brick."

I closed the toilet door at Boomer's words, feeling a surge of anger in me. Wasn't it obvious that I was hiding something? Didn't they care enough to prod more? Of course not. Since when did my brothers even care about anything except their stupid lives?

Leaning against the door, I let myself slide down to the ground, closing my eyes as I leaned against the door. My body was hurting. It was hurting so much. Yet, I could barely register the pain in my mind. There was something else within. Something that was stinging so much more inside of me, begging to be released somehow. I couldn't hold the tears in, even though I had no idea what they originated from. I couldn't stop the sobs that escaped between my lips. But even then, it was not enough.

Why was I hurting so much?

My fingers dug into my chest and my nails raked across my body, diagonally downwards to my hips. Repeating the action drew more tears and some blood but even then, I wasn't satisfied. Physically, I could feel my powers returning as the pain receded. That merely served to worsen the situation. It wasn't helping that I was feeling less pain.

I… wanted more…

Getting to my knees, I crawled over to the bin and reached in, pulling out a piece of glass. Pressing it on my skin, I pulled it along the scratches my nails had caused. It hurt a lot more than my fingers did. It hurt so much that my mind kept begging me to stop, telling me over and over again that I was going overboard and that my problems weren't justification for me to hurt myself. It was wrong. There were other ways. But for some reason, these 'other ways' didn't appeal to me. Pain was what I had known my whole life. It really wasn't unexpected, was it?

I didn't want to stop but as I continued, I got used to the pain and it started losing its healing touch. Shakily, I stopped and slowly got up. From what remained of my mirror, I admired my work of art. My body was a sanguine masterpiece. I ran my hand along my torso, smearing the thick, sticky liquid over myself.

Red…

More red…

Why did it have to be red?

I caught the eye of my reflection. My eye wasn't the beautiful red that embellished my body. It was different. It was brighter, resembling cherries atop an ice cream. It seemed more welcoming, more innocent. It was… disgusting.

I knew I took it too far even before it happened. With the glass piece still in my hand, I raised it up to my right eye. I didn't hesitate like before. I plunged it in. Unlike the other times, the pain was unbearable. With a soft cry, I dropped the piece of glass, slamming my hands over my bloody eye. It hurt too much for me to open it, much less check my sight. I probably was going blind in that eye but whether that was an issue didn't surface in my mind in that moments. There was only one thing on my mind.

Pain.

Pain, pain and more pain.

I stumbled back, hit my back against the glass shower door and slid down to the floor. I was panting hard. I was trembling. It was starting to get too much. My body convulsed and I turned my head in time to throw up on the floor and spare myself from the horror of being doused in my own puke.

I was feeling pain till the point of nausea. I doubted I had ever felt such feelings before.

And… I was relishing it.

For the first time in a long time, I felt a smile spread on my face.

* * *

 _Hello my friends. It's been awhile since I had uploaded something. I know I have a story to complete but this happened in the spur of the moment or something like that. I'm not going to say much. I'm just going to leave this here. I hope I didn't overdo this though. I don't know if I should continue this. I might turn this into a typical finding release and recovery through art/music but we'll see about that._


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't intend to but I ended up falling asleep on the floor of my bathroom. In my dazed state, I had no idea what time I woke up and it took me a while to fully comprehend anything.

I stood up and stretched, my eyes falling onto my reflection in my mirror. My body was covered with scars, with all the wounds having closed up. The only trace of the recentness of my wounds was the dried blood on my body. I had no idea if the scars would ever fade off but if they weren't going to, that would be a big problem for me if someone happened to see them.

Speaking of seeing, I realized that my sight was almost unaffected. I wasn't blind in my right eye. While my right vision was a little blurry, I figured it would return to normal sooner or later. After closely examining my eye, I realized that there was a slight scar as well, though it didn't affect my pupil at all. I doubted anyone would notice.

It took me an hour to wash off all evidences of the previous night from the place as well as from myself. After a shower much longer than my previous one, I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. I opened the blinds of my window, letting light stream into my room. It seemed to be midday. My apartment overlooked the local town park and when I looked out, I was greeted, once again, with the superficial happiness that Townsville prided itself in. Little kids were running around and playing with one another (where was anyone when I wanted to play as a kid?). The young and old were jogging and exercising, interacting with one another (where was anyone for me to talk to while I exercised?). Dogs could run about and chase one another before running into the arms of their owners (where was someone to offer me a pair of arms to run into?). The sight, which would probably be refreshing to many, caused me to scowl and close my blinds shut, reverting my room back to complete darkness.

I walked to my closet and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before I threw myself on the bed, staring at my ceiling. My stomach was grumbling but after the events of the previous day, I wasn't so keen on going out to meet Boomer and Butch. I rolled over, onto my front, pulling a pillow beneath me in an attempt to ease the gastric uneasiness. Turning on the lamp on my bedside table, I picked up the book I had placed there and opened it to the page I had left it off at. At least, reading was much more interesting than my current life, even if it was of past, long-gone villains of the world.

Unlike many I knew off, I didn't enjoy fictional tales. Even among non-fiction books, my taste seemed really specific and narrow. War. Dictators. Torture. History. Every single book I owned (which was more than what many would believe I owned) were historical books detailing many past events from wars to revolutions to uprisings. They interested me to an extent I didn't want to admit. The love I had for learning about villains of the past was probably something many wouldn't welcome. Yet, it wasn't exactly surprising or unforeseeable.

Sometimes I wished I was someone like them.

How did those people even survive as dictators and generals when they lacked superpowers? I guess their brains and charisma could have played a part, both of which I seem to severely lack, ironically as I was supposed to be Blossom's counterpart.

I was reading on Adolf Hitler's rather intriguing sex life when I heard a knock on the door. Returning my book to the table and turning off the lamp, I got up and walked to my door. Halfway there, I realized that I was completely topless and my scars were all visible.

I opened the door slightly, just enough for me to look out. Butch was waiting outside and since he was dressed in a pair of khaki berms and a green t-shirt, I could roughly figure out where he was headed.

"Booms and I are headed for the skate park. Want to come?" he asked.

"Not really. I'm busy," I replied immediately.

"Doing what?" Butch asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have plans," I replied. I proceeded to close the door but Butch shoved his foot between the door and the frame.

"C'mon, bro, we both know you don't have any plans. You don't do your schoolwork. You don't have any hobbies and interests. You don't have a single friend to hang out with. I bet you have something rather interesting planned in that dark room of yours for such a wonderful Saturday afternoon, don't you?" he asked sardonically.

"Sitting in my dark room is much more interesting that the skate park. Thanks but I'm going to reject that offer of yours," I said, trying to kick his foot away.

"Come on, Brick, it'll be fun! Just tag along," Butch insisted, almost pleadingly.

"Why? So your friends can beat me up again while you sit and laugh your ass off? No thank you. I might end up killing somebody and getting thrown into jail even though I acted in self defense," I scoffed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to my book so if you'll kindly move your foot, I'd be really grateful."

"Fine then," he muttered, removing his foot. "Stay shut in there with that stupid book of yours and disappear. See if I care, fucking nerd."

 _That's right. You don't care._

I closed the door shut and walked to my closet to pull on a long-sleeved red t-shirt. I realized I was going to have to wear such clothes and it was a little unappealing since it was summer and the temperature could be scalding at times. But I didn't give much thought to it. I had other things to complain about in life.

When I heard Boomer and Butch leave the house, I left my room and headed to the kitchen. I made a quick work in preparing myself some breakfast, even though the clock beside me clearly showed that it was past noon. Taking my plate of eggs, bacon and toast, I headed to the living room and turned on the television, channel surfing till I eventually decided to watch the news. I crossed my legs on the couch and started eating as my eye stayed on the screen. It seemed like there was war in a certain region in the world, a late dictator's sex dungeon had just been discovered, a scandalous and controversial love site had been hacked and a certain government had just been overrun by conspiracies. I guessed the world was a rather interesting place but in the place I was stuck in, nothing seemed to be happening, with the exception of monster attacks that didn't affect me much, unless my apartment complex got destroyed or damaged. That, too, only happened once or twice and the government relocated us in a matter of hours.

I should have left a long time ago but the agreement with the government I made a year ago dictated that I remained in Townsville for ten years, which meant nine more years for me. By then, if I was still alive, I would be twenty-eight. A little too late to leave and find some excitement, I believe.

I watched as the newscasters explored destroyed cities and towns, interviewed victims and analyzed survey statistics. Everything was so much more interesting than what I was given in my life.

My life was boring, miserable and detestable and there was nothing I could do to improve it. I placed the plate down on the table and let myself fall onto the couch, sliding my hands into the pockets of my pants. I hadn't finished my food but I didn't feel like eating anymore.

At some point in time, the doorbell distracted my self-loathing and I got up. I had expected it to be my brothers so when I opened the door and saw my Powerpuff counterpart, I was momentarily stunned until realization dawned on me. It was the fifteenth of the month, time for the girls' monthly check of our apartment to make sure we were being good, lawful citizens. It was one of those clauses where both the girls and we weren't so pleased with.

"Hey, where're your brothers?" Blossom asked the moment she stepped in.

"Out," I replied, walking back and throwing myself on the couch as I picked up the remote. The news had shifted over to some environmental debate and I had completely lost all interest.

"Should I come back later then?" she asked.

"Nah, just do what you're gonna do and scram," I sighed. I turned off the television and got up, taking my plate back into the kitchen. I threw everything into the bin and rinsed the plate. Boomer would give me an earful if I merely left it in the sink.

"That's a huge waste of food," Blossom commented.

"Not hungry."

"Then why'd you cook it?" she asked.

"I was hungry twenty minutes ago," I replied.

"Is that why you're losing so much weight? Haven't you been eating enough?" she questioned.

"I have not been losing weight," I sighed, turning to her. "Anyway, my diet isn't a part of your concern."

"Well, your diet does show some signs of your mental health and it'll help me judge your adaptability," she pointed out.

"Whatever then. I'm fine."

"Shall we spar?" she asked. That came out of the blue. I stared at her and she grinned at me challengingly. "It's been a year since I've fought a real challenge. Why not come along and we can exchange blows like the good old days?"

"I'll pass," I replied.

"What are you? Chicken?" she asked mockingly. "I saw the video and I saw how badly you were holding back when Mitch was hitting you. Don't you want to let lose and swing a fist or two without being arrested?"

 _She saw it too?_

"I'll past," I repeated, strangely finding no interest in her offer.

"That's weird. Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning forward as she studied me thoroughly (I suppose). She frowned and placed a hand on my forehead, taking me completely by surprise. I pushed her hand away roughly.

"Yes," I snapped, crossing my arms as well.

"Short answers aren't really you, Brick," she said.

"What do you even know about me?"

"More than most people," she replied. She stepped closer, looking up at me, almost squinting her eyes. "What happened to you eye?"

 _Oh fuck._

"My eye?" I wondered aloud, feigning confusion.

"There's something there in your right eye. Did something happen?" she asked.

"No," I replied. "Maybe it got hurt when Mitch beat me up."

"Hope it goes off," she murmured, staring at me right in my eye. "It'll be a pity if your eye is ruined because of that. You have such nice eyes…"

What?

"I don't," I hissed, turning away from her. I turned on the tap and pushed my hand under the running water. "If you have something to do, hurry up and get it over with."

"Fine."

When I turned back, she wasn't behind me any more. I turned the tap off and slid my hands into my pockets, letting the cloth of my pants dry my wet hands. I was aware that my anger had spiked at her words and it annoyed me even more than her words did. She had offered me a compliment, hadn't she? It wasn't everyday someone did that to me. I should have been grateful.

But… over my eyes? She complimented me over the very source of all my problems. How was I supposed to be grateful over that?

Blossom emerged a while later, looking at me suspiciously. "Your mirror is broken," she commented.

"I got angry," I replied honestly.

"There was blood on the glass," she continued.

"I cut my hand," I said. She didn't seemed to believe me and I held out my right hand. The scars on both my hands were more faint than the ones on my body and left wrist but they showed enough.

"I… see… Please be careful next time," she sighed.

"Sure."

"Well then, I'll be off."

I walked her to the door. When she opened the door, my brothers were standing there, with Butch hand outstretched. He blinked at her in confusion before he grinned.

"Hey, there! Long time no see!" he said.

"I've been busy," Blossom replied.

"Yeah, it was Bubbles and Buttercup who came to our place the past five months," Boomer said.

 _That long?_

I didn't even realize that I hadn't seen her in a long time. Considering that I am compared to her almost on a daily basis, it was really surprising that I hadn't realized that we did not meet in a long time. Blossom had skipped grades when she was much younger and when we were enrolled into high school, she had already graduated. As of that moment, she was probably in her first year of college.

Why was my counterpart a genius when I was not? Why were we so different, unlike our siblings who were almost the same? Why couldn't I be liked and accepted like Blossom was?

"Everything alright?" For a moment, I almost thought Butch was asking me, fearing that I was making my thoughts show on my face. Realizing that it was meant for Blossom, I tried to calm my racing heart, feeling embarrassment surface.

Of course he didn't mean me. He never cared.

"Yes, everything's alright, except for a broken mirror," she said, looking at me from the corner of her eyes.

"A broken mirror? Where?" Boomer asked, jumping up. He winced slightly and Butch groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Boomer hurt his knee so we'll be going in first, okay?" Helping Boomer to limp forward, Butch led him towards his room. I stared at Boomer's knee, the redness of his open wound reminding me of the previous night.

"Oh, Brick," Butch called out without looking back. "If Mitch drops by, let him in. He has our boards with him."

 _Mitch? Mitch Mitchelson?!_

"Okay," I murmured, barely realizing that I was clenching my fists. While he had beaten me up the previous day, he hung out with my brothers like they were friends. He was even helping them bring their boards back when Boomer got hurt. What kind of shallow person was he?

 _No… He isn't the shallow one…_

Had Butch forgotten about what had happened the previous day? He expected me to let that bastard into _my_ house after he had hurt and humiliated me?

"Brick? Are you okay?" I had forgotten that Blossom was still there. As I tried to get myself back into reality, I realized that she was staring at me almost worriedly.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's bad having to have to face him after—"

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped, cutting into her words. I realized that I had raised my voice a little at her, not as much as I had done before but more than I had did ever since the treaty.

"I'm… sorry. I'll just go now." Blossom didn't seem pissed. In fact, she almost seemed upset.

"Yeah, please do," I murmured. Blossom nodded and she proceeded out. I closed the door after her and walked back to the couch, throwing myself on it. I felt my eyelids close slowly. Why was I so exhausted? It had barely been three hours since I stepped out of the bathroom.

Maybe the blood loss from yesterday played a part.

I heard a knock on the door for a short while. It had to be Mitch. Blossom had just left and I wondered if they had passed each other. I got up and walked to the door, opening the door. As expected, the detestable brunette stood in front of me. At the sight of me, he grinned.

"Hey there, Brickie, how are you this lovely day?" he asked.

"Better that I had ever been all my life. Thanks," I murmured.

"So… are you going to let me in or am I supposed to just pass these to you?" He held out a pair of boards. I took both of them and shrugged, knowing that it didn't really matter to him. Even if I said no, he would still enter if he wanted to. No one really respected my opinions anyway.

I dropped the boards on the ground and started walking towards my room.

"Yo, Brick," Mitch called out. "I'm thirsty. Aren't you going to get your guest something to drink?"

 _Guest? Don't make me laugh._

"Kitchen's to your right. Take any glass. There's juice and milk in the fridge. Help yourself," I replied and quickened my pace to my room, closing and locking the door behind me.

He was their guest.

A guest…

A fucking guest.

 _Then… what was I?_

Staying in that house any longer was going to make me insane. I changed into a pair of jeans, grabbed my red sneakers and pulled them on. I opened the door and walked out, heading towards the main door. Butch had already gone out of Boomer's room and was talking to Mitch in the living room. Mitch still wasn't drinking anything.

 _Thirsty, my foot._

"Is Booms alright?" Mitch asked. "It was a pretty nasty fall and he looked like he was about to cry."

 _He cares._

"It was pretty bad… It took a long time to stop the bleeding," Butch replied.

My mind recalled the previous night again, the image of myself being burned into the back of my eyelids every time I blinked. Never in my life had I looked so beautiful as I did in front of the mirror, fully in red.

I opened the main door.

"Brick, where are you going?" Butch asked.

"Out," I replied, slamming the door behind me. As I walked away, my sharp hearing could pick up the conversation between Butch and Mitch.

"What's his problem?" Mitch scoffed.

"I don't know. He's been like that for as long as I can remember," Butch grumbled.

 _As long as you can remember? How long have you known me, Butch?_

"What a loser," Mitch sighed. "It was really funny yesterday though. He was helpless in Jake's arms, like a punching bag."

I stopped. I could hear Butch laughing.

"Brick is really weak," Butch added amidst in laughter.

"Yeah, man. I can't believe he's your brother," Mitch snickered. "I used to think you guys were cool. I mean, you still are and Boomer's, well, Boomer. But Brick… Man! They way he cowered yesterday was hilarious."

Both of them burst out laughing louder than before. I didn't even need superhearing to hear them any longer. I didn't want to hear anymore so I continued walking, running down the stairs as I couldn't be bothered to wait for the elevator.

Why? Why was my brother being so friendly with the one who beat me up? Why was he laughing over my weakness?

 **Even after all you've done for them…**

I stopped walking and looked around. The voice in my head was eerily familiar and I knew it wasn't my conscience. It had been a long time since I had heard my second father's voice. The last time I did, it was probably before we left him. He didn't bother to come after us and we didn't bother about him any longer. The fact that he had spoke into my mind was a huge surprise.

 **Come on, Brick. You've done a lot for them, haven't you?**

 _I did, didn't I?_

 **Yes, my son. You've done all you could for those ungrateful brats and look at how they repay you.**

 _But…_

 **Why don't you come see me for a while? Mojo and I are having tea and it would be nice to have some company.**

Meeting both my fathers at the same time didn't really seem appealing to me but I figured that it was a better idea than hanging around town and getting yelled at or going back home and dealing with my brothers and Mitch. With my hands in my pockets, I headed to the park, or more specifically, the dormant volcano that stood in the middle.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been twelve years since I last met either of my fathers.

The door to Mojo's observatory was unlocked so I invited myself in. Mojo and HIM were seated in the middle of the room and as HIM as said in my mind, both of them were drinking tea. A plate of cookies lay on the table untouched and none of them seemed to show any interest in it.

"Hello, Brick, how nice of you to join us," HIM said, welcoming my. He nodded at an empty chair and I walked over, stiffly sitting down. Mojo passed me a cup, which I accepted but made no attempt to drink from.

"It's been awhile," Mojo said calmly. "How are you, my son?" It had been so long since I encountered the monkey and his appearance had changed a lot. He stared at me with sunken eyes and grinned, showing a set of decayed and missing teeth. Unlike him, however, HIM looked the same as he did in the past. His skin was still as red as ever. He still had his pointy claws. His outfit hadn't changed as well.

"I'm… okay… I guess," I replied.

"He's not okay," HIM added. "He's far from okay."

"That's right. I heard about the treaty. It must have been hard on all of you," Mojo commented.

"Not really. His brothers are coping fine… too fine," HIM replied.

"Ah, what a pity," Mojo sighed, shaking his head. I scowled at his condescending look. It's not like he had any right to say such a thing. He wasn't exactly living out his evil genius lifestyle either. He shouldn't have any right to comment on my brothers.

"You can't really compare yourselves to Mojo, Brick. He's gotten too old," HIM said. I didn't know if my face was showing my thoughts or he read my mind but whatever it was, he clearly knew what I was thinking.

"That's true. I can barely walk up the stairs, much less plot to overthrow the world," Mojo added. "More importantly, why do I sense a great deal of distress from you?"

"I'm not distressed," I said.

"Really? Why don't you take off your shirt, then?" HIM suggested. "I'd like to see how well my gorgeous son has developed…"

"I'll pass," I snapped. The look on HIM's face told me that he clearly knew what had happened yet he feigned ignorance. I got reminded, once again, why I wasn't fond of my fathers.

"What a pity," HIM sighed. "Tea?"

"I'll… pass," I replied. I wasn't thirsty and god knows what they had put inside of that. If there's anything I knew about my fathers, it was that they couldn't be trusted.

"So Brick, what are your plans for the future?" Mojo asked.

"Excuse me?" I muttered, staring at him in confusion.

"Well, frankly speaking, you can't leave town until you're in your late twenties so if you're going to live as a law-abiding citizen, you need to have some plans for the future," Mojo replied.

"The government gives us how much we want so I don't really need a job," I admitted.

"Then you're just going to rot your life away at home, huh?" HIM wondered. "Why don't you just come back to us?"

"Come back…?"

"Join the side of evil again. Screw the treaty. You're a Rowdyruff. Are you really afraid of the government?" HIIM asked, grinning widely.

"No… but… I can't defeat the girls on my own and I know my brothers are content with their current lives," I said honestly.

"So if you can be evil in a way the girls won't find out, you'll come back to us. Am I right?" HIM asked.

He was planning something, wasn't he? I knew he was yet I found myself nodding. A life of goodness had given me nothing but pain. All it had done was hurt me over and over again. If being good was so painful, then I rather be bad and bring pain to others. After all, weren't they the ones who hurt me when I tried to give up my evil ways? It made sense, didn't it?

Didn't it?

For a moment, I blanked out. It was a really sudden and unexpected. Even in my unconscious state, I could feel my mind whirl in fear and confusion. He was doing something. HIM was doing something. What was happening?

When I opened my eyes, it seemed like some time had passed. From the window, I could see that it was already late in the afternoon. HIM and Mojo were staring at me. HIM was grinning widely while Mojo remained stoic.

"Looks like someone had a nice nap," HIM commented.

"W-What happened?" I asked. Even though I could comprehend what was going on around me, everything seemed to be in a daze.

"Come with me," HIM instructed. He walked towards the window and I followed behind him. As he stopped and looked out, I did the same. The park was filled with people. Children were running around, playing. Families were having picnics. Dogs were chasing each other. Everything seemed happy and innocent.

"What are we looking at?" I asked, feeling bitter from the joy and laughter I was witnessing, as usual.

"What do you think about this?" HIM asked gravely.

"It's a sight for sore eyes," I murmured, turning away. "It's better if it got destroyed."

"And destroy it shall," HIM sniggered.

 **Let destruction befall all that those red eyes fall upon.**

I hadn't realized how silent Mojo's lair was, not until screaming erupted. I could feel the place shaking so violently that I fell on my bum. I looked up at HIM and he was grinning widely— wider than previously. He burst out in a bout of maniacal laughter, stretching his claws into the sky. I was engulfed in red smoke and I closed my eyes and held my breath. When the smoke was finally gone, I found the state of the place much different than before.

It was dark, smelly and dusty. I saw cobwebs at almost every corner. I looked around as I got up, pinching my nose from the stench. Ahead of me, on the red armchair, sat my first father. He wasn't moving.

He was… dead…

Mojo's body didn't just look dead and lifeless. He looked almost rotten. How long had he been dead?

I shook my head. No, it wasn't the time to be worrying about Mojo's dead body, I needed to get out. I ran towards the door and opened it, only to be taken aback by the sight outside.

The park was completely destroyed, or at least, it was on the verge of being destroyed. The whole park was a crater and the ground was cracking. Some were running about the place but most were already dead, either from falling into the cracks or having something fall above them.

 **Beautiful, isn't it?**

 _What did you do, HIM?_

 **What did I do? Nonsense! This is all your doing, my dear!**

I heard a shrill scream, followed by a series of loud sobs. I looked around the place and saw a young boy, knelt on the ground, in front of a stack of rocks and debris. Behind him, a crack was rushing towards him.

 **That kid's going to be killed… It's going to be beautiful.**

A kid was going to die.

He looked to be in his early teens so he should realize that it was dangerous to stick to one place. As I stared at him, he made no attempts to budge, merely remaining on his knees as he bawled his eyes out. What could he even be crying about? He was going to die!

 **Come on, I know you'd love it if your brothers died but not all families are like that.**

 _Family…_

He probably saw someone die. He probably saw someone dear to him die.

He saw his family die…

 **What would you do if Boomer and Butch died, huh? Throw a party?**

That… bastard…

Without any more hesitation, I flew towards the boy. Just as the ground under him crumbled, I grabbed his collar and pulled him up into my arms. My eyes caught sight of spilt blood, torn limbs and scattered guts close to him. Had he seen his own loved ones crushed into mush?

As I flew away from the site, the area started to calm down. A safe distance away, I stopped and landed, placing the boy on his feet.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

The boy didn't look at me, nor did he reply verbally. He held his head low for a moment before he threw himself against me, his arms wrapping around me as he cried into my shirt. I looked down at him and then at what was once the park.

 **Nice, isn't it? I call this Red Eye. Congratulations, Brick. As the leader among the three, I award you with your individual ability. You can now bring destruction and suffering to whatever and whomever you have ill intent directed towards. All you got to do is look at them.**

 _What?_

 **Have fun, my son.**

 _No! Nonono. You're kidding, aren't you?_

HIM didn't reply but I heard a laughter in my head go on until it faded off. By then, the girls had arrived and not unexpectedly, all three of them looked horrified. No one had ever caused Townsville so much destruction and I had done it without even lifting a finger.

Since I was still close to the site, the girls noticed me. I could see Buttercup's desire to rush to me and beat the hell out of me, obviously holding me responsible. However, Blossom held her hands out, holding both her sisters back. She flew over to me and the others followed behind. The boy looked up at the girls but he continued hugging me.

"What happened, Brick?" Blossom asked.

"I don't know," I replied. I wasn't lying, technically. I really didn't know what was going on. Whatever HIM said didn't fully make sense to me either.

"Who's that kid?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you know who caused this?"

"No."

Buttercup's eye twitched. "Oh, come on, sis. It's obvious this idiot is responsible. You can't see anyone within a five mile radius of this place but him."

"She has a point," Bubbles agreed.

"So you're saying Brick is powerful enough to do that," Blossom said, jabbing her finger behind her.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Buttercup muttered, scratching the back of her head.

"He's about as powerful as us and we can't do this…" Bubbles added.

"And the video of him yesterday showed that he was much bigger a coward than he used to be before," Buttercup sighed. "So why's he here?"

"What were you doing here, Brick?" Blossom questioned, frowning slightly.

"I was just wandering about. I didn't want to be at home with… you know…" I trailed off, knowing that Blossom got the idea. She moved to kneel on the ground, checking on the boy.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

The boy didn't reply, except to press himself harder against me.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I'll get you checked, okay?" she said, smiling sweetly.

The boy looked up at me and I nodded, knowing that Blossom had a point. Blossom picked the boy up and with a nod at Buttercup and Bubbles, flew off.

"What happened with that kid?" Buttercup asked.

"I caught him before he fell and I think he saw someone die," I replied.

"That makes sense," Buttercup said. "So what happened here?"

"I don't know. All I knew was that the ground was shaking and there was screaming," I answered. That wasn't a lie either. Well, at least not completely.

"Well then… I guess you can go. If there's anything, we'll… give you a call," Bubbles replied, nodding gratefully. The girls headed to the crater and I remained silent, for a moment, just staring ahead, before I turned and headed to my apartment quickly.

If HIM was right, I had just conducted a massacre. But was he serious or was he just pulling my leg?

The moment I was out of the girls' sight, I ran all the way home. I didn't bother waiting for the elevator and I sprinted up the stairs. By the time I was at the front door, I was panting and struggling to catch my breath.

I tried to open the door but it was locked, although I didn't remember locking it when I left. For some reason, I had a strange drive to rush into my room. I pounded on the door hard and it seemed like eternity before it opened to unveil an annoyed Butch.

"What the fuck, dude?" he snapped.

I pushed past him and entered the apartment, headed towards my room.

"Hey, where did you go?" Butch asked, yelling out from behind me.

 _It's none of your goddamned business._

"Nowhere, why?" I grumbled, stopping outside my room, hand on the door knob.

"Well, I don't know if you noticed but someone just fucking destroyed the park," Butch replied.

"Yeah. I saw. I was close by."

"It's scary, isn't it? Boomer and I were just there. If he hadn't had gotten hurt, we might have been caught in that," Butch added.

I remembered the conflict I felt at the thought of their deaths. Wasn't there a part of me that slightly didn't mind?

 _No, what the fuck? They're my brothers._

"Good for you," I murmured, opening the door and slamming it shut after I entered. I heard Butch curse but I paid no heed to it. I kicked off my sneakers and threw myself on the bed. My heart continued racing and I realized I was sweating.

If HIM was right, I just conducted mass murder. I had all along been a villain but this was a whole new level of villainy. It was on par with great figures of History, like Adolf Hitler from Nazi Germany and Pol Pot from Cambodia under the Khmer Rogue rule. As much as I felt a tinge of guilt from the deaths and pain I had caused, I couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration from being the cause of an event that potentially could go down in history.

 **And you have the power to do much more…**

Something told me that HIM's voice wasn't going to go away anytime soon but if that was what I had to deal with to gain such a power, then, why not?

 **That's my boy.**

The sound of vibration brought me out of my trance. I reached over to my bedside table and picked up my phone. It was Blossom.

"Just to let you know, the boy you saved is doing fine," she said.

"Is he?" I wondered bitterly.

"Yes. He was asking for you, though, so I thought it'd be nice if you could come and visit," she replied.

"Nah, I'm comfortable enough at home."

"Let me rephrase that. You _will_ come to visit him. Have I made myself clear?" she questioned.

"Why?"

"The poor kid's lost his family and he watched his mother get smashed by rocks. Can you please show some humanity and come visit him when he's asking for you?" Blossom sounded annoyed and for once, it seemed like the old days.

She wasn't going to let me off unless I concede.

"Fine, but tomorrow," I snapped.

"Okay." She hung up without a goodbye.

I tossed my phone aside and closed my eyes. My head was throbbing and my heart was pounding. The sight of the park falling apart kept replaying itself in my mind as my conscience exploded into a seemingly endless debate over my actions.

I just killed people. I had just killed people. I had conducted a goddamned massacre.

I never killed anyone before, at least not directly. People died from my actions but I had never killed someone before. Yet, I had just killed the entire park. I bet there was probably about a hundred of them there.

 _I… killed them all._

They died because of me.

 _Ha… haha…_

I had the power to be big again. I had the power to be important again. I could do anything I wanted to.

 _Hahaha… hahahahahaha._

I felt a grin growing on my face. I didn't have to be scared anymore. I didn't have to be weak anymore. I could do whatever I wanted to.

 _HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA._

Never had I felt better.

* * *

 **I actually had these two chapters written quite some time ago. I just didn't know if I should upload them. I do have a brief idea where to go with this but I doubt it'll end happily. Sorry I haven't been uploading much. It's A-level period now so I'm kinda busy (taking a break after two papers to upload this because I need to clear my mind). I promise I'll upload the remaining 4-5 chapters of The Boys are Back in Town some time next month, after all this is over. I thank everyone for their support.**

 **With much love (and hugs and kisses),**

 **Obsessiveangel**


	4. Chapter 4

I hadn't intended to keep to my word but it was no surprise that Blossom figured that out. The next day, while I was outside my room, rummaging the fridge for something to snack on as I read, the doorbell rang. Boomer was preparing lunch and Butch was busy watching a football game. Neither looked like they were going to the door so I guessed I had to do it instead.

I opened the door and Blossom grinned at me. "So, ready to go?" she asked.

"Go where?" I asked back.

"To see Dylan, of course," she said.

"Dylan?"

"The kid you saved. Come on, Brick," she sighed. "It's not like you have anything to do on a Sunday afternoon."

"I kinda have a lot of homework," I replied. That wasn't exactly a lie actually.

"Your teachers told us that you never do your work."

Nothing I say was going to change her mind. I sighed and nodded. "Alright. Let me get changed."

I headed to my room and pulled on a pair of maroon jeans and a black t-shirt. My scars were still present, with no change from the previous day, and I had no choice but to wear long sleeves again. Why did I cut myself on my arms? I vowed to do it on less obvious places if a next time ever came. But with my new powers, I wondered if I would even end up having to do it again.

I left my room. Blossom had seated herself down on the couch and seemed to be talking to Butch. I cleared my throat.

"Shall we go? I really would like to get back home faster," I said when she looked at me.

"Woah. Are you two out on a date?" Butch asked, looking at the two of us and smirking.

"No, we're going to the hospital to visit the boy Brick saved yesterday," Blossom replied.

Butch's smirk fell to a frown of utter confusion. "Huh? Brick saved someone?" he gasped. He looked at me with widening eyes. "Are you feeling okay, bro? I know you haven't been yourself lately but…"

"I'm fine," I snapped. "Blossom, let's go."

Without another word to Butch, I walked out of the house and towards the elevator. Blossom followed behind me.

"We could fly there, you know," she said slowly.

"Nah."

"Don't you like flying?" she asked.

I remained silent for a moment until the elevator came and we entered it. "I'm not a big fan of relying on my powers when I'm trying to act as a normal kid," I replied.

"How's it been living as a normal person?" she asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it to someone else," I sighed immediately.

Blossom giggled a little, her voice sounding strangely interesting. I turned away from her and focused my eye on the numbered buttons of the elevator, thinking over what had happened the previous day. Why did I save the boy again?

We headed towards the hospital in silence, without speaking another word to each other. What was there to say anyway? Blossom was my enemy and I was hers. There was nothing for us to talk over. But even as we walked with no attempts at making conversation, my sense of uneasiness grew with every step. I could feel eyes on me at every corner. Everyone was looking. Everyone was judging. They knew who I was and they knew who she was. They knew what we were and they knew that it was not normal for us to be walking beside each other.

Were they judging us or were they judging me? I could only speculate but something told me that there was no way anyone was sparing me. They were probably wondering what wrong I did till Blossom ad to escort me someplace.

With the discomfort plaguing my mind and senses, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and fixed my eyes down at the pavement, letting my hair fall into my eyes in the process. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't want to see anyone looking at me.

I just wanted to go home.

When we finally reached the hospital, Blossom led me to up a few floors to a room. The doctors and nurses were much too busy to pay much attention to us but some did cast dubious glances at me. Outside the room, Blossom lightly shoved me towards the door.

"Wait, aren't you coming with me?" I asked.

"No. It's you he wants to see," Blossom replied. "I only came because I wanted to make sure you didn't run away."

It would have been a typical Brick thing to run away but since I had been so conscious of everyone staring at me, I hadn't even thought about it.

"So you're leaving now?"

"No. I'll just stay here and wait," Blossom said with a smirk. "Just in case."

Just in case I do anything stupid and evil, I suppose.

I entered the room and shut the door behind me. The boy— Dylan as Blossom had called him earlier on— was seated on his bed, his back faced towards me as he looked out of the window. At the sound of the door closing, he turned his head and he smiled weakly at me. Considering that he was grieving his family's death (his eyes were puffy and all), it was relatively a large smile.

"Hey. Dylan, right?" I said, walking over to him. I initially was about to pull a chair up and sit by his bedside but I opted to sit on the edge of the bed, beside him, instead.

"Hi Brick," he said, his voice sounded a little too hoarse for a kid like him. (Must be the crying.)

"Are you… doing okay?" I asked and immediately groaned in my mind, knowing that it was a stupid question.

"Yeah… I'm fine… Thanks to you, I guess." He turned away from me and stared out of the window. I looked out as well. Townsville's hospital used to have a nice view of the park but since it was destroyed, that perk vanished as well. But with Dylan's connection to the disaster, he had been placed at the other set of rooms, the more boring ones that were facing rows of grey metal and glass buildings.

"Brick, can I ask you something?" Dylan asked after a long thoughtless silence between us.

"Yes?"

"You're a bad guy so why did you save me?"

It wasn't a question I hadn't expected but it was one I was hoping he wouldn't ask. I turned to look at him, meeting his large blue eyes with mine. His eyes were a lot of shades lighter than Boomer's were but they held the same wide-eyed innocence that my younger brother once had (maybe he still did but I never noticed since I didn't look much at him anymore). Dylan looked a lot like Boomer but at the same time, he didn't.

I remembered my train of thoughts back then during the incident and I was sure the thought of Boomer and Butch in such a situation had crossed my mind but whether it had prompted me to act, I wasn't so sure.

"I don't understand. They say that you're a bad guy but I think you're a good guy," Dylan continued.

"I… am not a good guy," I replied.

"You saved my life," he insisted.

"Saving one person's life does not justify the hundreds of deaths I have caused, Dylan," I replied, trying to stay calm. There was a strange feeling stirring through me. The fact that Dylan doubted my evil nature made me, strangely, contented.

"But… you didn't kill anyone intentionally, didn't you?" he argued.

"What do you think an evil person is like?" I asked, disregarding his question.

"The person who destroyed the park is someone who's evil. He killed my family and he destroyed this city's happiest place." His answer was immediate and sure.

"Then, what if I was that person?" I asked.

"Impossible."

"It's just a hypothetical situation," I sighed.

"It's still impossible."

"Then what do you want to do to the man who did that to the park?" I asked.

Dylan tilted his head, frowning. "I… want him to die like my parents did." He sounded almost emotionless, taking me aback initially.

"Revenge huh?" I murmured, turning back to the window. That was no surprise at all.

"Actually, Brick, do you think you can do that for me?" he asked softly.

I glance at him and frowned slightly. "You want me to kill him."

"Yes," he whispered, shrinking back. "I mean, it's okay if you can't… but if you could, I thought…"

"I have never killed someone intentionally before and if I do kill someone, I could end up in jail permanently," I replied.

He grabbed my sleeve, turning his body to face me. His eyes were welling up in tears. "But there's no way I can do something like that. I'm young and weak. But you're strong and I know that you can do it."

"Look, kid, I know you're upset but revenge is never the answer," I replied, almost lecturing him. "No one knows what happened. It might be some freak accident or some paranormal crap. I dunno. But what I do know is that, if someone is responsible, the police, government or someone like that will make sure he's punished."

Dylan burst into tears at my insistence, holding tightly onto my sleeve as he shifted closer to me. "But Brick, they won't kill him. I want him to die. He killed my parents. He left me all alone. You know, Mommy was pregnant and I was going to have a little sister… But I can't now. I want all of them back. I want Mommy, Daddy and Emi. I want them back."

"Dylan, I—"

"You're powerful, aren't you?" Dylan cut in. "The man who took them away from me is mean and bad and bad men should not live, right? Right, Brick?"

"Dylan, I really can't do that," I replied.

How was I to accept this anyway? He wanted me to kill myself.

"Please Brick, please!"

Without knowing what else to do, I reached over and wrapped my arms around the sobbing and wailing kid, hoping that at least, a hug would calm him down. If someone happened to walk in while he was crying, there was no doubt that I would be accused of doing something and I would have ended up with a greater problem.

"Look, look, I can't kill him but I will try to find him, okay?" I said in haste. "I'll find him and I'll talk to him and I'll find out what happened exactly. After that, if he really is evil, I will kill him, okay?"

 _Liar._

"Really?" Dylan sobbed.

"Yes, really."

 _Liar liar liar._

Sometime later, Dylan finally calmed down at my words and I decided to take my leave. After waving goodbye to him, I walked out of the room and found Blossom waiting for me. Noticing me, she pushed herself off the wall and grinned.

"So, did you manage to soften that rock-hard heart of yours?" she asked cheekily.

"Shut up," I muttered. "He asked me to find the culprit and kill him."

"And?"

"I agreed," I sighed. "I couldn't say no to him when he was bawling his eyes out."

"Little Brickie's gone soft, I see," Blossom cooed, nudging me with her elbow. "Well, whatever it is, you can try talking to him after he recovers from this incident."

"What's going to happen to him?"

"He has an Aunt who lives on the outskirts of the city and she'll take care of him. She was on an overseas trip at the other end of the world— someplace in Asia— when this happened. She's on her way here now. I guess she'll be taking care of him," Blossom replied.

"Well, that's good," I murmured.

We headed out of the hospital together, falling silent again. I didn't know why we were walking together and I didn't know where we were headed to but after some time, Blossom stopped and I did as well, turning back to look at her.

"Do you know that Mojo's dead?" she asked.

The memory surfaced but I shook my head. "Is he?"

"Yeah, we found his partially rotten corpse yesterday while we were investigating the park. No one knew when he died," Blossom said.

"Do you know why?"

"Probably old age or some illness associated with it. Natural causes. No trace of homicide," Blossom replied. "It's information that isn't going to be released yet but I feel that it's something that you should know."

"Is it?"

Just like it was when I had seen his corpse, I hardly felt any remorse.

"Isn't he your father, after all?" Blossom said.

"My father?" I scoffed. "Blossom, if he was truly my father, I wouldn't be left alone on the streets with my brothers all those years ago. If he was my father, we would be living as a family and we would have a home and all this wouldn't have happened. Mojo's my creator and HIM is my resurrector. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"I see. I'm sorry, I just thought that it was something you should know," she replied.

"Well, I appreciate that thought but it doesn't concern me. I'm going home."

I left without a goodbye and she didn't offer one either. Her words had slightly annoyed me, once again reminding me of how pathetic my life was in comparison to hers. Blossom's happy family kept surfacing in my mind, causing me to draw unneeded comparisons between our lives. I had no father. My brothers and I didn't even act like brothers. We were nothing she could comprehend.

 **Of course, Blossom's just what you always wanted to be but you can't so you end up as a rotten scheming liar.**

 _Shut up._

I had been wondering when HIM was going to appear in my head.

 **You lied to that little kid.**

 _I was trying to console him._

 **When the truth gets out, it's going to get ugly.**

 _It won't._

HIM didn't say anything else but my mind burst into a pit of his laughter, with it ringing in my ears with no trace of stopping. I quickened my pace home, feeling my head start to throb. I rushed all the way back to my apartment and swung the door opened, accidentally slamming it shut when I was in.

Butch turned to look at me from the couch and raised his eyebrow. "Dude, what did that door even do to you?" he asked.

"Just shut up," I snapped, heading to the kitchen for some aspirins. As I was rummaging through the drawers, I heard footsteps and I looked up to see Boomer approaching me.

"Hey, Brick, what's going on?" he asked.

"Where do you keep the aspirins?" I sighed.

"In here." Boomer reached above me and opened the cupboard, taking a glass bottle and passing it to me. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts," I replied.

"Really? Why don't you go lie down? I'll bring some soup for you," Boomer said.

 _Stop it._

"I'm fine. I can take care of myself," I replied, unintentionally snapping at him in the process. With the bottle in my hand, I went to the refrigerator to grab myself a bottle of water and started towards my room.

"Brick! What about lunch?" Boomer asked.

"I'm not hungry."

"But you hadn't had breakfast yet."

I didn't reply him and I went to my room, retreating back into the darkness I felt so comfortable in. I headed to my bed, throwing two pills in my mouth and gulping down a few mouthfuls of water. After placing the bottles on my bedside table, I threw myself on my bed and buried my face in my pillow. HIM's voice and laughter had faded off but the dull ache in my head from them was still present. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping for sleep to come so that, hopefully, the pain will ease by the time I woke up.

I was disturbed by a knock on the door.

Not so keen on walking all the way back to the door, I merely shouted across. "What?"

"Can I come in?" It was Boomer.

I honestly didn't want him to but I decided to anyway. If I refused, he might end up bugging me more in future. Boomer was such a person. I didn't know if he was trying to be a good brother or if he truly cared but whatever it was, it annoyed me a little. Still, it was more bearable that however Butch treated me.

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled. With his hearing, he managed to pick it up and he opened the door to enter my room.

"I think you should eat something," he said, hesitantly looking up at me. "Blossom mentioned that you seemed to be losing weight and now that I think about it, you really have grown at lot thinner."

"No I haven't," I scoffed.

"Really?" Boomer wondered aloud acidly. He walked over to me as I sat up and he grabbed my wrists, digging his fingers into the bones. "You're almost all skin and bones."

"That's my wrist. Most wrists are like this," I argued.

"Most ribs aren't like this though," Boomer snapped, poking me from the side, making sure to jam his finger against a rib to prove his point. "Why don't you remove your shirt then? We'll see if you really need more food."

I didn't care if he noticed that I was no longer as toned and muscular as I used to be. My chest was almost bony and my abs were practically non-existent by then. But I did mind him seeing what my body was filled with. Those scars that I had inflicted on myself were mine. They were a work of art only meant for my eyes— something that no other pair of eyes should ever see. They were my sacred ornaments that I was proud of, so much so that the thought of others' sight on them repulsed me.

"Alright, fine, I'll eat your stupid soup," I growled, getting onto my feet.

Boomer grinned at me. "That's more I like it."

I followed Boomer to the dining room, where Butch had already seated himself and was taking his helping of soup and mashed potatoes. I hadn't expected Butch to be there and I wasn't looking forward to sitting on the same table with him. I glared at Boomer, mainly at the back of his head, wondering why he even had to come get me. While I was cursing my fate, the image of the destroyed park flashed in my mind and I turned my eyes away from Boomer. Would Boomer die if I looked at him with ill-intentions? Was my ability even legit?

Deciding to test it out, I looked around to try it on something. Through the glass window, I caught sight of the refrigerator and I decided to make do with it. Taking a deep breath, I stared at the refrigerator.

 _Stupid, worthless piece of junk. You're hopeless. You didn't even have food for me when I came to check this morning. You should be destroyed._

I had expected a huge explosion of sort but nothing of that happened and I turned away from it in part relief and part disappointment. I guess HIM was playing with my mind and I didn't have that ability after all. While it was saddening that I didn't have that cool ability, I was partially at ease thinking that I was absolved of the responsibility of killing all those people. Perhaps, I might even be able to keep my promise with Dylan.

"Dude, what's so interesting about the fridge?" Butch asked as I slid into my seat.

"Nothing. I was just wondering," I replied, taking some soup. I decided not to touch the mashed potatoes, not unless Boomer said something about it.

"About what?"

"Ice-cream. It's a hot day so maybe we should get some ice-cream," I said.

"That's a good idea," Boomer said, chuckling.

"Yeah but Brick thinking about ice-cream is weird," Butch replied. "You alright, bro? You're acting kinda weird today?"

"You've only seen me for five minutes today," I pointed out. "I'm fine."

"You saved a kid," Butch challenged.

"He looked like Boomer so I saved him on instinct," I replied. "And that was yesterday, by the way."

"But, well, it's not you to save people," Butch sighed.

"I would save you guys if you were ever in trouble," I argued. "Though I doubt you'd so the same for me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Butch asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"It means that I can't trust my back with you two," I scowled. "I get knocked out in one fight and look what happens! One fight. It was just that one fight and the two of you fucked up big time."

For some reason, this seemed to piss Butch off. "So… it's our fault?" he asked aridly.

"Of course it's your fault! Why the hell would you—"

I couldn't finish my sentence because Butch had jumped to his feet, slamming his palm right in front of me. "Look here you pathetic ungrateful little bastard. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have died."

"Butch!" Boomer hissed.

"Of course, I would have died. We all would. They'd have given us the death sentence."

Butch scowled, reaching forward and grabbing my collar. "You know what? I'm getting sick and tired of this bullshit. I've had enough of having to deal with you blaming us. Know this, it was you fault that—"

"Butch, I said enough!" Boomer cut in, almost at the top of his voice. "We promised never to bring this up!"

Butch cursed under his breath but he released his hold on me, sitting back down. Uncomfortable with the new tensed silence, I decided to take my bowl of soup and head to my room instead. I didn't know what Boomer and Butch had promised each other but it was obvious that I was being left out again.

I guess they blamed me for their situation. I could see why though, not that it seemed logical. It was probably my fault for getting knocked out. I mean, I was being targeted and all but all that mattered to them was probably the fact that I was knocked out. Being the brains of our old team, it meant that the two of them were at a loss. No wonder we lost.

 _How unfair._

* * *

 ** _I finished exams and all quite some time back and I had this sitting in my computer for quite sometime. Anyway, I should have the next chapter up soon. I don't intend to make this too long. It'll probably be about 10, max 15 (?), chapters. We'll see._**

 ** _I should be continuing the boys are back in town but I really enjoy writing this much more than that. Or, at least, I rather write this than the las two chapters, mainly because for that story, it's all the happy parts left and for some reason, I only like writing when my characters are suffering or something. I'm such a mean person, I guess. :(_**

 ** _Well, whatever. I hope you guys enjoy this. Thank you for the amazing reviews and whatever support all of you have given to not only this, but to all my stories. (I'm debating taking down Operation Execution even though I have that complete for some reason. The new chapter seems a little too inappropriate...)_**

 ** _Stay awesome y'guys_**

 ** _Much love,_**

 ** _Me xx_**


	5. Chapter 5

I normally am a deep sleeper. I'm the most vulnerable when I am asleep. It usually takes really loud noises or really hard physical actions to wake me. So when Boomer managed to wake me by merely knocking on my door, I assumed he was probably pummelling the poor piece of wood with all his strength.

I didn't invite him in but I did slowly sit up in bed, still not completely oriented after waking up. Though I hadn't replied, Boomer decided to walk in anyway. If I was completely awake, I would probably have been annoyed by that but I was already too annoyed with being woken up to bother about that.

"Hey, we're going out after school today," Boomer said, crossing his arms.

"Okay," I murmured in reply, wondering how that even concerned me. I threw myself back on my bed and pulled my covers up to my face. After the incidents of the past few days, I didn't intend to go to school. I had left my room far too much and all I wanted to do was stay in bed, relax my mind and read a book or something. "I'm going back to sleep."

I didn't realize him walking up to me and I was only aware of his movement when I felt my shirt being grabbed and I was pulled to sit up again. I glared at him and he flashed me a wide grin.

"We're going out and that includes you," he said. "If you don't come, Butch and I are both going to beat your ass up and you know that right now, you stand no chance against us." As if to prove his point, he poked me in the ribs, making me jump slightly. He released his hold on me and started walking out.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The mall," Boomer replied. "We need to buy a refrigerator. Ours died sometime yesterday."

Boomer closed the door. I merely sat still, staring at the door in disbelief. The refrigerator hadn't blown up the previous day when I tested out my new powers. I had concluded that HIM was messing with me. But since something did happen to it, was HIM really telling the truth or was it all a mere coincidence?

I didn't know how serious Boomer was about me following them. He had a point when he said that I was no match for both of them but I wondered how he was going to convince Butch to even bother about me. Especially after the argument from the previous night, I had expected him to give me the cold shoulder for the next month or so. Since I didn't have anything else to do after school anyway, I decided to tag along. With the slight chance of Boomer's words being true, I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.

That day was the first day in a long time I wasn't alone after school. But I did end up making my brothers wait for me since I was was held back by Ms Winters regarding some tests and assignments of mine. I really was starting to feel bad for her. No matter how much she tried to get me to put in effort, it never motivated me at all. All I ended up doing is providing her with a half-hearted apology and a promise to improve— that too, one I had no intention to keep. When I finally met my brothers, Butch was fuming and was almost on the verge of blowing up.

"You sure took your time," Butch grumbled.

"No one told me we're in a hurry," I replied. Butch scowled at my words, to which Boomer elbowed him in the ribs.

"Now, now, let's all be nice to one another. It's been so long since we're all going out together," he said, grinning widely. He grabbed Butch and me by our shoulders and started to push us out of school.

The trip to the store was much too silent on my part. Boomer and Butch didn't stop talking, however. Initially, I made an effort to listen in to their conversation but I lost interest almost immediately. How did they even manage to go on talking about the girls their friends have screwed? It didn't even concern them, at least not directly. Okay, so Mitch ended up in bed with some cheerleader. Good for him but how does that even affect us?

"Hey, Brick," Boomer called out, slapping my shoulder lightly. "Got any interesting stories?"

"Not really," I replied immediately.

"I'm sure there must be something you're looking forward to or something," Boomer said.

"There is," I admitted.

"Really?" Boomer gasped. Both Butch and him stopped walking and when I turned to them, I saw eyes of surprise and curiosity.

"Oh, this is new," Butch chuckled. "What is it? What is it?"

"It's nothing big, really," I sighed but their eyes merely grew wider. "Nine years time. The end of the treaty's conditions."

I could see the hope and spirit in their eyes fade off immediately. Butch rolled his eyes and continued walking onwards. Of course, what did he expect me to day? Did he really think I was going to waste my energy thinking of something to talk to him about? I'm sorry, there really was nothing in common between him and I anymore. There was nothing for us to chat and act all buddy-buddy over like we used to do in the past. He was the star of the soccer team (was it soccer or something else?) and I was basically a nobody.

"You know, Brick," Boomer said as we started following behind Butch. "I think Butch will treat you better if you start acting like your old self."

"My old self?" I murmured. "Then, I bet you wouldn't mind me hitting you, would you? I'm really pissed from being dragged out."

"I didn't mean it in that way," Boomer sighed. "Like, try to be more confident or something."

"I am confident," I argued.

"Your head is hanging forward and your shoulders are slouched," Boomer pointed out immediately. "It's like you're afraid of something. Your hair's practically hiding your eyes. Don't you like people looking at you?"

"My hair's long. I can't help it. I already cut it and I don't intend to cut it anymore so don't suggest that," I snapped.

"Your hair used to be longer but you always pushed it back with your cap," Boomer pointed out. "Why did you stop wearing it? Wasn't your cap like your statement or something? You never used to part with it."

"Well, that was the me in the past. I'm not that Brick anymore," I said.

"Yeah, well, I miss that Brick… We all do." Boomer didn't say much after that and he quickened his pace to meet up with Butch's.

I continued following them even as we entered the store and they started looking at the refrigerators. Looking at all of the refrigerators, I thought back to the one at home. Was everything really a coincidence or was HIM telling the truth? It's unusual that he was remaining silent as well. I had expected him to actually say something to me in either situation. Plus, there was the issue with the park. Was I really the one who had destroyed the place and killed so many people? Why was HIM staying silent? Why wasn't he saying anything?

The place was crowded. It was stuffy and I was wearing long-sleeves. Looking back at Boomer and Butch, it looked like they weren't going to be done anytime soon. Sighing, I walked closer and listened in to their conversation. It seemed like they were arguing over their preferred kind of refrigerator.

"Just pick one out. For fuck's sake, it's just a refrigerator," I snapped.

"Yeah, but how big should it be?" Boomer asked. "I suggested a smaller one since we don't have much food but Butch disagreed."

"We don't have much food precisely because our refrigerator is small," Butch argued. "If you guys bought a bigger one, we can put more food into it."

"We don't need much food in the first place. Besides, we only need to store food for dinner since we're barely home for lunch. Well, except for Brick," Boomer paused and turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you do for lunch anyway? Do you even eat lunch?"

"It depends," I replied. "Look, can we just get the same one?"

"Well, that's true, I guess," Boomer sighed.

"Hey boys, what are you doing?"

As much as it took me by surprise, I recognized the voice of my hated nemesis. From behind Boomer, the girls walked up to us, smiling and waving. We weren't friends or anything so it was strange to see them so friendly with us, especially considering our past. But then again, I was sure that in the past year, my brothers probably had made friends out of them.

"We're getting a refrigerator," Butch replied.

"Oh, really? I would call this a coincidence but we're here to get a dishwasher," Buttercup said.

"A dishwasher? What happened to your previous one?" Boomer asked.

"Buttercup ruined it… somehow," Blossom replied with a sigh. "Are you boys done already? We are."

"Not really. We can't decide on a size," Boomer said.

"Oh, we'll help you search," Bubbles offered. "Then, we can go for lunch and catch up! It's been awhile since all six of us were together."

Catch up? Come on, it's not like we're friends…

"Sounds great!" Boomer agreed. "Hey, guys, how about we just get that one? It's exactly the same as the one we had at home."

Looking at the one Boomer was pointing at, I realized that it was exactly like the one we had at home, in terms of size, brand, capacity, colour and everything else that mattered as a refrigerator. As Boomer went to make the purchase and arrange for the delivery, I found myself resisting the urge to strangle him. Wasn't that what I had suggested in the first place?

If I stared at Boomer when I was pissed off at him, would that kill him? HIM had stayed silent the entire time. I could only wonder if the incident was a mere coincidence. I could always test it out again but would I risk exposing myself if I tried it out in public. And if I really did want to try it out again, I needed to try it on something that would give me an immediate result.

Maybe like… a person…

If I tried my abilities out on a person, I should be able to get my answers instantly. If my target immediately falls dead, then whatever HIM was saying would be true. It would mean that I had a chance to become what I once was again.

"Alright, so where are we going for lunch?" Deep in thought, I hadn't realized that Boomer had returned till he asked that question.

"There's that pizza place just down the road," Buttercup suggested.

"Good idea!" Butch exclaimed. "I heard there's a hot chick there."

"The waitress?" Buttercup sighed. "She's from our school, you know."

"That's twice as good!" Butch sniggered.

"Yeah but she's probably not at work now since school just ended today," Buttercup pointed out.

As Buttercup and Butch started walking towards the exit, arguing over the waitress at the pizza place, the rest of us followed behind. Thinking back to my previous thoughts, the sudden realization dawned on me that I actually had been considering murdering someone to ascertain my abilities. But coming from someone like me, I guess that came as no surprise. I was evil. I was despicable. Thinking about stuff like murder should be part and parcel of my life, I suppose.

That is, despite the fact that I had never even considered murdering someone (other than the girls) before in my entire life.

"You're coming too, huh?" Blossom said, interrupting my thoughts. "I expected you to go back home."

"It didn't cross my mind," I admitted.

"That's strange," she chuckled. "I thought all you ever do is stay at home."

"I had something on my mind so I didn't realize," I replied. "But that's none of your business, isn't it?"

"Depends. If you're planning to destroy something, then it is my business," Blossom replied.

Going by that logic, it would completely be her business. I held my tongue and shrugged, looking away from her. We had arrived at the pizza parlour by then and I followed everyone in. As they chose seats, argued over the order and started chatting, I remained silent, barely listening to their hopeless conversations and mainly looking around the place. No one was staring at us despite how we stood out as a group but I guess that was because there weren't many customers around in the first place. Realizing that for once, no one was casting dubious glances at me, I decided to let myself relax. I turned to the rest, trying to grasp what the conversation was about. It seemed like they were talking about their summer plans. Summer break was a weak away anyway.

"So you boys are going to be busy, huh?" Buttercup sighed.

"Well, for the start, at least," Butch replied. "Up till the tournament ends, my days will be packed with soccer trainings."

"I'll be helping the school plan the art exhibition so aside from my own paintings, I'm going to have to keep watch on the logistics. We have pieces coming in from quite a few schools," Boomer added.

"You sound like you're looking forward to that," Buttercup sighed. "Bubs, you're in the art club too, right?"

"Yeah. Boomer and I are working on a piece together," her sister replied. "I'm really excited."

"Well, they sure get along," Blossom sighed softly, probably directing her words to me.

I looked straight at her (she was seated directly across from me). "They're all so alike," I commented.

"It makes me wonder why we turned out this way," Blossom sighed.

"We're nothing alike," I agreed. The issue with Dylan surfaced in my mind and I decided to ask about him. Since we were all having lunch anyway, I might as well talk to her. I guess engaging in conversations wasn't bad from time to time, especially if it was Blossom. Despite how anyone would expect her to be the wariest of me, Blossom surprisingly seemed completely comfortable with me. At least, she never casted strange looks at me like everyone else seemed to do.

"His Aunt is back so they've discharged him. He's with her now," Blossom replied, "which reminds me, she asked me to convey her thanks to you."

"Well, it's not that big a deal," I sighed. At that moment, the pizza arrived. We fell silent as the waitress placed two pizzas on the table. I helped myself to the closest one, biting into it as I thought over Blossom's words, mainly the gratitude of Dylan's Aunt.

"It's not a big deal to you but it is to her. He's the only family she has left," Blossom said.

"I guess that makes sense…" I took another bite into the pizza. It tasted much better than I had thought it would have, especially since the cheese seemed to melt in my mouth. I couldn't remember the last time I had pizza that was actually enjoyable. Thinking about it, I couldn't remember the last time I even had pizza.

"Are you going to see him soon?" Blossom questioned.

"I don't know. It feels weird to," I admitted. Plus, it would have been much too much effort for me to go all the way to where he was staying anyway.

"I bet he wants to see you. He seemed fond of you," Blossom pointed out.

"Who seems fond of Brick?" Butch asked, leaning forward to look at me. "Is there a girl who has a crush on him?"

"Princess Morbucks?" Boomer wondered aloud.

"Princess has a thing for Brick?" Buttercup looked like she almost spat out her food as she gasped.

I turned to Boomer and raised an eyebrow. "What are you going on about?"

"Didn't you know that Princess has a thing for you? I thought everyone knew," Bubbles replied instead.

"Well, actually, I think she liked you since we were kids or something," Boomer admitted.

Knowing that Princess Morbucks had a crush on me meant nothing to me at all. Maybe if it was someone else, I would have responded more or showed more interest but if it was her, it meant nothing since we both had criminal background. Anyone who took sides with me in the past would definitely admire me, especially the past me. Princess probably like the kid I was. If we became acquainted now, she would be disappointed.

"I was talking about the kid he saved the other day," Blossom sighed. "You should go visit him some time."

"Yeah, well, I don't mind seeing him but… are you sure no one else minds?" I pointed out.

"If no one knows it, how can anyone mind?" Blossom replied frankly, taking a sip of her drink. "Besides, you promised him something, didn't you?"

"I never promised to meet up with him," I muttered.

"Well, it's not like you have a habit of keeping promises anyway," Blossom sighed, making me raise an eyebrow at her with a scowl. Blossom chuckled. "I know. Ms Winters has been complaining to me about you."

Of course it was Ms Winters, that annoying bitch.

"What did you promise him anyway?" Buttercup asked.

"That I'd try to find the guy that did that to the park and figure out if he's evil. If he is, I'll kill him," I replied.

"How're you even going to do that? Up till now, we have no leads," Bubbles said.

No leads meant that I would be safe. I couldn't let the truth be out. They would kill me without batting an eye. I needed to stay safe. As long as they had no leads, I wouldn't die. I wouldn't die and I could continue living.

Living… Living how, exactly? The shitty life I had been living all along? The life which had brought me nothing but pain and humiliation? So what if I was safe…?

"He wants revenge… That little kid wants revenge on the man that did that to him and his family," I whispered. "Hey… isn't revenge an evil thing?"

"Wishing harm on another person is evil no matter how you look at it," Blossom replied. "But you're talking about someone who had watched his entire family die before him and that too, in such gruesome ways. Telling him that he can't avenge those people is akin to abandoning him in his eyes."

"If I had denied him what he wanted…"

"He would think the world had turned its back on him," Blossom continued for me. "You don't want that, do you? Neither do I. It's the worst thing anyone can ever face."

To have the world turn its back on you is the worst thing one can ever face. No matter what he does, he will always end up returning to empty loneliness. No matter if he puts on a cheerful front to fit in or if he tries to fight it, all that awaits him is a dark room with nothing but himself, his things and his thoughts. Of course I know this. It was practically my everyday life. But it was nothing Blossom would understand nor would anyone else. Someone who has a life would never know what it means to be alone, confused, helpless, weak and sad. How could Blossom ever understand what it means to be so helpless and defeated that all you seek was revenge? Particularly, revenge on the very source of your sorrow. What would Blossom know? She had been revered and treasured all her life. She was loved and valued. She had friends and family that care for her. She never had to pretend to be anything. She never had to worry about being unable to stand up for herself— she didn't need to.

Dylan shouldn't face that feeling of abandonment, huh? He shouldn't, huh? Although he was a stinking brat that has evil in his heart and desires the death of another human being, he should be pitied and sympathized with, huh?

"This is fucking bullshit," I muttered. "Why should I care? So what if he's sad? Why should anyone care? No one ever cared if I felt that way. So what if he does?"

"Brick…" Boomer hissed, grabbing my arm. "What are you fuming over for? Calm down."

"Shut up!" I snapped, pulling my arm away and standing up. "None of you will ever understand what that feels like, especially not you, Blossom! It's the worst thing ever, huh? It is! But there's no way you know that. There's no way for you to be able to know that!"

"Dude, calm the fuck down!" Butch growled. "Don't piss them off, dammit."

Butch had a point. If I lost myself in my anger and did something impulsive, the girls could simply put me down. My brothers couldn't help me without risking their own lives as well (not like they would save me in the first place).

"I'm going home," I said, grabbing my bag. I headed out as I slung it on one shoulder, scowling over Blossom's words.

Deciding to leave early was my first mistake. Deciding to hurry home through the alleys was my second mistake. As I walked towards my apartment, I was suddenly grabbed by the collar and shoved back into the wall. Mitch's face came into sight as he pushed me against the wall with one hand pressing against my chest. In another hand, he was holding a small blade, pressed lightly against my neck.

"You really shouldn't walk through back alleys, Brick. It's unsafe," Mitch sighed.

I looked around and realized that his group of pathetic losers were with him. As usual, one of them was holding out a phone and probably recording the event. That video was going to hurt again, either as a source of humiliation if it ended up circulating my weakness or as evidence against me if it ended up recording my retaliation.

"You know, Brick, I was really curious," Mitch continued. "How strong are you? If I use this on you, will it hurt?"

"Of course it will," I hissed. "Let me go, Mitch."

"But I'm bored so I'm going to play around with you for a while," Mitch said. He brought the blade up to my face and pressed it against my cheek, hard enough to tear skin and flesh as he dragged it downwards. I winced from the pain but it didn't bother me much, considering I had endured worse before.

"Boy, you're tough," Mitch chuckled. He took a step back and raised his arm, before swinging it downwards. The next attack made me gag as he slammed the knife into the side of my abdomen, deep within my muscles and veins. A twist of the knife earned him a soft gasp of pain and between my squinted eyes, I saw him exchange grins with his friends. My pain was their enjoyment, as usual. I learnt once again why I despised him, the world and also myself.

I was too weak.

A fist slammed into my cheek, making me stumble to the side.

I was too weak to protect myself and my brothers. That was why we lost.

Someone kneed me into the stomach and I felt more blood seep through my wound. I grabbed my side, pressing against the bleeding to make it stop. Cuts and bruises hurt but they weren't lethal. A wound like that could result in my death.

I was too weak to stand up for myself against the world. I lacked power to do it.

 _I need more power._

I could feel more blows but as I lost blood, my head started to spin and I couldn't comprehend what was going on anymore. At some point in time, my knees buckled and gave way. But I don't remember falling because someone grabbed me by my hair, pulling me up to slam my head against the wall. Any normal human would have died or fainted by then but I remained awake and ended up victim to more of their blows. I had the strength to kill them all with my own hands but I couldn't use it. In the end, all that strength only prolonged my agony.

When I finally fell, I thought it was all over, until someone grabbed me by my chin and lifted me up partially. I opened my eyes and I saw Mitch's grinning face. He held me still, making sure our eyes were locked and that I couldn't look away.

I didn't close my eyes. That was my third mistake.

"Hey, hey, hey. Now's not the time to go to sleep," he laughed. "I'm nowhere near done with you. Do you know something, Brick? It feels so good to be able to do this to you. You're so strong but you can't do anything to us. It's amazing. You're pathetic."

 _No, you're pathetic, you coward._

"I'm amazing, huh?" he sniggered. "Oi, say it. Say that I'm amazing."

 _I'd rather die…_

"Too proud to admit it, huh?" Mitch sighed. "Well, whatever. If I can thrash you up, I'm sure I can get a lot of people indebted to me, especially those who died by your hands. The world will love me. I will do something even the Powerpuff Girls couldn't do."

 _Ah… That's right… I never wondered why they didn't kill me that day. Why did we sign that treaty? I should ask her…_

"Oi, don't you dare fall asleep!" he snarled, drawing me to the realization that my eyelids were starting to get heavy. "I want to do more things to you and become more amazing. I wanna make you scream, cry, beg and cower. How's that sound?"

 _Fool. Like I'd ever do that. If I hadn't lost so much, your punches won't even bother me much… What a loser. All of you… No matter how much you try… you're pathetic… You guys are such embarrassments. People like you shouldn't exist. Why don't you just die? It'd be a load of my mind._

Mitch slammed my head back down onto the ground and I let my eyes wander from one person to next, looking at their grins and smirks of victory.

 _If only… you guys died…_

Wishing for their deaths, I slowly closed my eyes. Before the darkness overcame me and I fell into the ignorance of my unconsciousness, I caught a glimpse of change in Mitch's eyes. Before I faded off into my deep sleep, I heard a scream.

 **Excellent.**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up long before I opened my eyes. My body felt hot and it throbbed from pain. My limbs felt heavy and I barely had the energy to lift them. My mind was blank, mainly from the searing headache I had. I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them again at the sight of blinding white light.

I opened my eyes again, trying to ignore the lights although they were making my head hurt even more. I was in an empty room, seated on a chair, with a table and another chair in front of me. Facing me, at the end of the room, was a mirror. As I stared at my reflection, I realized that my body was unmovable not from any injuries but from certain restrictions placed on me. My arms were wrenched to the back of the chair and were cuffed tightly, preventing me from moving them at all. My legs were chained to the legs of the chair. As I tried to struggle within my confinements, I realized that my abdomen was hurting as well. For a moment, I could only sit and ponder but after awhile, I realized what had happened as memories started surfacing.

Mitch had stabbed me, hadn't he? What happened after that?

From the looks of it, after I blanked out, the police probably had taken me in. But why would they just take me in randomly? I hadn't done anything unless, they somehow had figured out my involvement in the incident at the park. I wasn't so sure about that myself as well. What could I tell them if they ask me about it? If I told them I did it, it was all over for me. I had no idea if HIM was messing with me or if he was serious. It would be best to feign my innocence. Anyway, they had nothing to prove that I was involved as well, right?

When the door opened, I saw the Chief and Blossom walk in. Blossom stayed a distance away, looking at me with blank eyes as the Chief came up to me and sat down across of me, putting a folder down in front of me.

"Well, it looks like you're finally awake," he said. "We gave you some Antidote X so don't bother trying to escape."

That explained why everything seemed to be hurting much more than usual.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Don't you know?" the Chief asked back. It was on the tip of my tongue to immediately cry out excuses to prove my innocent yet I held my tongue. The Chief stared at me for a while before he sighed. "What's your relation to Mitch Mitchellson?"

"Mitch?" I wondered aloud, genuinely confused now. "Nothing. We don't really get along."

"What about David Thomson, Josh Peters, Jared Dailey and Steve Evans?" Chief continued.

I frowned. "Who?"

"They were all friends of Mitch," the Chief replied, "and they were there when we found you."

It seemed like he was talking about Mitch's little minions. I never knew their names but I hated them as much as I hated Mitch. I glanced at Blossom and I saw her giving me a slight nod.

"I don't really know them," I admitted. "We didn't really get along."

"We talked to some students from your school. I heard about that video going around," Chief said. "You really hate them because of that, don't you?"

Something was up. Something was definitely up. I knew it. I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded.

"In fact," Chief continued, opening the folder and pulling out a few photographs, "you hated them enough to do this."

Chief laid the photographs out in front of me. As I took a look at them, my eyes widened and I leaned forward. The photos were dark and very red. But at the same time, I recognized everyone who was in them. With their limbs severed and bodies punctured, every single one of Mitch's gang was dead. Their eyes were wide open, though lifeless and plain. Their mouths were open as well, almost as if they had been gasping for their final breath. Someone had an eyeball gorged out. Someone else had his face slashed into half. Mitch had his knife plunged down his throat.

"W-What happened?" I asked, looking up at Chief. "What happened to them?"

"They were murdered of course," he replied, "by you."

"By me?" I gasped. "I... I didn't do that."

"When we arrived at the scene, there was only one person who was alive. That person was you."

"Me?" I stared at him in disbelief before looking back down at the photographs. Looking closely, it did look like an alley and it could have been the one we were at.

"So, tell me, how did you do this?" Chief asked. He got up and walked up to me. Grabbing my chin, he forced my head upwards so that I was looking up at him.

"I didn't do this," I insisted.

"Bullshit," he spat. My head burst into pain as something was slammed against me, causing me to turn to the side. Wincing, I turned to look back at him. Chief was holding a pistol in his hand and I figured he had hit me with it.

"I really didn't do it!" I insisted. "They were beating me up and I think I fainted or something."

He hit me with the butt of the pistol again, this time to the top of my head. My head was thrown downwards, causing me to bite my tongue in the process. The metallic tinge of blood made me gag and I looked up slowly at Chief. I could feel spit and blood trailing down the side of my chin.

Chief grabbed my face again. "Look here you—"

"That's enough, Chief," Blossom cut in. "He says he didn't do anything. Besides, the video shows that he clearly was knocked unconscious."

"Do you trust this guy, Blossom?" the Chief scoffed. "He's a criminal, no doubt."

"He used to be one and if you continue this way, he'll probably revert back to being one!" Blossom snapped. She walked over to us and held her palm out in front of the Chief. Chief scowled at her and reached into his pocket. He placed a key on her palm before scoffing and walking out. Blossom moved behind me and I could feel her lean forward. After the sounds of some metal clanking,

I felt my arms fall to my side. They were heavy and weak and from every slight movement, they hurt even more than I had expected them to.

"Are you feeling alright?" Blossom asked.

"No," I snapped. My voice came out much weaker than I had intended it to.

"You're free to go now. Can you stand?" she asked.

I nodded despite knowing that my body was much too weak for me to stand on my own. Holding onto the table, I hoisted myself onto my feet, pulling myself up. Immediately as I stood up, my knees buckled and I slouched over from the pain at the side of my abdomen. I staggered forward, only for Blossom to grab my arm.

"You need help," she stated. She was using that usual stern tone of hers and I knew better to argue with that. I let her pull me close to her as she placed my arm over her shoulders, letting me lean against her to support myself.

"There. Better now?" she asked.

"I guess…" I murmured.

Blossom led me out of the room, through a bunch of empty corridors and finally out of the building through a door that led to an alley. Looking around, I realized that I had just left the police station through its back door. Blossom probably figured that I didn't want to meet anyone else and led me through the quieter route instead.

"Do you understand what's going on or are you completely lost?" she asked, chuckling to herself.

"I know that something happened with Mitch and people think I did it," I replied.

"That sums it up," she replied with a grin. "Come on. We'll talk about it once you're home."

For reasons they refused to divulge (though they didn't really need to), my apartment wasn't too far away from the police station. In fact, from the station's back door, it took a couple of turns before my apartment was in sight. Due to the state I was in, it took longer than usual to get there but still, it was a pretty fast trip. Back home, I was partly surprised to find it empty.

"Boomer and Butch are probably at the funeral," Blossom explained. She helped me to the kitchen and pushed me against the counter. Wincing slightly, I pulled myself to sit on it.

"Aren't you going?" I asked.

"I have to deal with you," she replied, rummaging through our drawers. "Besides, it's not like I was friends with Mitch or anything. I don't really know him aside from being in the same class in kindergarten and elementary school."

She walked over to me with the first aid kit and set it down beside me. I watched her as she opened it and pulled out a bottle and a piece of gauze. She turned to me and reached over to my face.

"This might hurt a bit so bear with it," she warned as she removed the bandages on my cheek. "Though, your stomach's gonna hurt a lot more later."

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"Changing your bandages," she replied. "They dressed you up when you were found but no one paid much attention to your wounds. It might get infected."

"What actually happened?" At this point in time, from my confusion over the entire situation I was in, I had forgotten the scars on my body as well as the fact that Blossom was about to see them.

"I heard some scuffling when I was in the pizza place yesterday. My sisters heard it as well. When we came to check, we saw all six of you lying on the ground. You were the only one alive. Anyone would think that you were the perpetrator," Blossom explained. "But the video showed otherwise."

As Blossom spoke, she lightly dabbed on my cut with the damp gauze. It had stung but I didn't think much about it. Blossom replaced the bandages and moved to gather more bandages.

"Video? What video?"

"Take off your shirt," she instructed. I removed my shirt, not thinking much about it. Blossom took out her phone and fiddled with it before passing it to me. As I watched the video that was taken of Mitch beating me up, Blossom began to remove my bandages.

I saw myself fall to the ground before Mitch picked me up. I couldn't hear what he was saying exactly but I had a vague idea from my memories. As he dropped me onto the ground, his group burst out into a bout of laughter. I could see myself looking around before my eyes slowly closed. But once I fell unconscious, the entire atmosphere seemed to change, especially when Mitch lunged at the nearest guy with his knife. The video fell into disarray as I assumed the cameraman dropped his phone in the mess. I only could hear screamings as blackness took over the screen.

"That video showed that you were knocked unconscious before the murder but it doesn't prove that you were unconscious the entire time. That's why the police had their doubts," Blossom replied. "But the knife didn't have your fingerprints on it and all the wounds were made by that knive. So even though we know you hate them, it didn't seem like you were responsible."

 _Oh fuck…_

"They just started killing each other, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess they did," Blossom murmured. "It doesn't make any sense."

 _Fuck, could it be?_

Was it really me? Was it my ability that made them do it? I couldn't think of any other reason that would make them kill each other. The five of them, although they were jerks, were completely sane. There was no way they could randomly start killing each other. As I fell unconscious and looked at all of them, didn't I curse them? Didn't I think about how I hated them for making my life a living hell? There was no way this was a mere coincidence. I did it. I killed them. I killed the five of them just as I killed everyone in the park. HIM was right.

"Ow! Hey!" I snapped as Blossom pressed something against my wound, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"This is kinda bad," she said, dropping a few red gauzes on the counter and taking out clean white ones. "If I leave it, it will worsen."

Looking down at myself, I caught sight of my scars and I immediately regretted allowing Blossom to change my bandages. She didn't seem to have mentioned them but I doubt she didn't notice. I could only hope she wouldn't bring it up. Maybe she'd assume that I got it from a fight.

I wasn't in luck.

"Anyway, where'd you get these scars from?" Blossom asked, lightly poking one. Finished bandaging me up, Blossom started to gather all the dirty, bloodied bandages together.

I shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "Here and there. We used to fight a lot."

 _Wait, no. Our scars fade much faster than normal humans._

"Those should have faded by now," she replied, looking up at me. I didn't know what kind of expression I was putting on but it obviously raised her suspicions. She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to me. "Brick… is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, there really isn't!" I said. "I'm kinda clumsy so I get them whenever I bump into stuff."

"No you're not," she snapped. "Besides, you're always in your room. What can you possibly bump into there?"

She had a point. My room was practically empty aside from my bed, closet, table and bedside table and all of them were at some corner, against the wall. Unless someone is a complete klutz, there was no way anyone could keep bumping into stuff.

"Now that I look at it, these scars are all exactly the same," she murmured as she stared at the ones running across my chest. "Is this… the result of some kind of torture?"

"No, nothing like that," I insisted, pushing her away lightly. "There's nothing to worry about. I didn't hurt anyone."

"Of course you didn't, Brick, but who's hurting you?" Blossom asked. She grabbed my arm as I tried to push her away, looking up at me with wide eyes. "What's happening? Tell me. Who did this to you?"

"No one, Blossom," I hissed. "You weren't supposed to see this. No one's supposed to see this. Please, just forget about it."

I hopped off the counter and grabbed my shirt, pulling it on immediately. Blossom continued staring at me, her eyes wide in something that looked like worry as well as disbelief. As I started to walk off, she grabbed me by my arm and spun me around. It had hurt and I winced but Blossom held on tightly.

"Did you do this?" she asked softly.

"Me? Of course not!" I replied quickly. But I could tell from the look in her eyes that she had probably figured it out.

"You did it, didn't you?" Blossom hissed. "Thinking about it, it must have been on that day, right? When I came over on the fifteenth? There was the broken glass and the blood on the glass..."

"No… it was… it was the day before that," I murmured, looking down, away from her eyes.

Blossom's hold tightened around my arms and she pulled me closer to her. "Why Brick? Why would you do this?"

Why did I do that? Thinking back, I really have no idea why. It started as an impulse I couldn't resist. It started as an urge to make someone pay for everything that was happening to me. It was a physical manifestation of my pain. But it wasn't something someone like Blossom could easily understand. There was no way.

I shrugged off her grip and turned away, walking off. Blossom followed after me and grabbed my hand again. We were in the living room now and as I tried to struggle and escape from her hold, she pushed me against the couch, causing me to fall slightly till I was seated on the armrest. I couldn't pull my hands out of her grasp. Since the effect of the antidote was still present, she outmatched me in terms of our strength.

"What's going on, Brick?" Blossom asked, sounding almost urgent. "Talk to me."

"Talk? What?" I stared blankly at her for a while before I shook my head. "I'm telling you! It's nothing."

Her fingers tightened around my wrist. "Please, Brick, stop pushing everyone away."

"I'm not pushing everyone away!"

 _Everyone's pushing me away…_

"Brick! Please!" Blossom cried out. "Stop this and let me help you."

The door was thrown open at this moment and Butch walked in with Boomer behind him. Butch stared at us and his eyes widened. At first, it seemed like he was taken aback but the somewhat suggestive position we were in but I figured a few seconds later that it wasn't. Butch hadn't even realized that Blossom was there. He walked up to us, pushed Blossom aside without a second glance at her and immediately swung his fist against my face. I fell backwards, onto the couch and he climbed over me, grabbing me by the collar.

"You fucking murderer!" he screamed. "How dare you show your face in here?"

He swung another punch at my face, crashing his knuckles into my cut. At the same time, under his weight, I could feel the wound at my abdomen start to throb and bleed.

"How dare you kill Mitch? You fucking wimp! Just die!" he yelled.

"Butch! Stop it!" Boomer yelled.

"Shut up, Boomer!" Butch yelled back. "This motherfucker needs to learn that the world has changed. He can't just do stuff like he used to. You can't just kill someone, Brick."

"I know that!" I snapped. "Let me go!"

"You have no right to talk to me, you sorry excuse for a brother," Butch hissed. "In fact, I don't even know if I should be calling you my brother. You're no brother to me."

That had hurt much more than anything else I had ever had to bear.

"That's enough, Butch," Blossom said, taking on her usual authoritative disposition.

"You stay out of this. You have no say in our family feud," he hissed.

"You just said that Brick's not your brother," Blossom pointed out. She walked over, grabbed Butch by the collar and wrenched him off me. "So this is not a family feud and since Brick's my friend and you're hurting him, I'm going to step in."

Butch stared at both Blossom and I incredulously as Blossom stood in between him and I, almost as if shielding me from him. I got up slowly, pressing the side of my abdomen, as I tried to meet his stare.

"You're pathetic," he gasped. "I can't believe this. Do you really need _her_ to protect you? You really are so pathetic… just like that day… This is just like the day we lost."

"Butch, stop it!" Boomer growled. "We promised."

"Fuck the promise, Booms! I can't live another day holding onto a secret like that as that pathetic loser just blames us for the mess he's in!" Butch yelled. "Hear this, Brick, the reason why we ended up this way isn't us. It's you. It's because some fucking idiot got defeated and those guys used you to threaten us into surrender. It's because you didn't just straight up died. You continued to live and begged us to save you. That's why we surrendered. That's why we're here."

"What?" I couldn't really find any other words.

"The two of us could have fled, Brick. If we did, we'd still be the same," Butch continued. "You were such a burden."

"Butch, stop it," Blossom snapped. "That's enough already."

"Shut up, Blossom!"

"No! You shut up!"

I couldn't remember what had happened on the day we were defeated. I had always assumed that I was knocked out and the two of them were defeated till they surrendered. That was what they told me when I woke up the next day. No one said anything about me being involved and awake during everything. I couldn't remember anything. I really couldn't remember anything at all.

I looked over at Boomer and he grimaced, turning away from me. "Booms, what happened?" I asked. Boomer shook his head and I took a step closer to him. "Boomer... what happened?"

"He had a gun to your head, Brick. You were still awake, barely though. You were begging us to save your life…" Boomer replied. "We couldn't do anything. We tried to fight but he shot your body in warning… so we surrendered. I'm really sorry, Brick."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"We thought… we didn't want you to live with the guilt that you ruined our lives," Boomer continued. "I know you'd end up thinking that way. I was scared that it'd prevent you from starting afresh and building a new, better life."

"But it turns out, you didn't even need that guilt to ruin your own life," Butch sneered.

It made sense that I hurt myself in response to pain. It was something I had been doing all along. No one had been hurting me. It was nobody's fault that I ended up like that— nobody but mine. People say to get rid of toxic relationships but what was I supposed to do? The toxin in my life was myself.

"I'm tired. I want to sleep," I said, getting up and staggering past Blossom and Butch.

"Brick, wait! Your wound's bleeding again," Blossom cried out.

I shook my head and ignored her, scrambling over to my room, slamming and locking the door behind me. As I left, I heard a sharp slapping sound and a muffled argument in the living room.

I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep and forget everything. But with the pain of my wounds, I was wide awake.

I walked over to my closet and opened the drawer. Among the vials and bottles, I pulled out a glass bottle from quite some time ago. I stared at the bottle for a while, realizing that I hadn't taken the contents in a while. They were pills from quite some time back. I used to have nightmares a lot in the past of even further back in past. I do not remember what happened after I died but I had dreams of those days even years after I was revived. Taking pills had always helped with the nightmares. They let me sleep and forget whatever miseries I had in my dreams. Recently, after my life had fallen apart, I barely had such dreams anymore. Sleep became a companion and my dreams became ones of a better life. Ones where I never lost what I used to be. It came naturally to me and I never was too scared to go to sleep anymore. I never had the need for the pills.

"Brick! Brick! Open the door!" I could hear Blossom screaming as she knocked on the door. I heard her rattle the knob and I heard her slam the door harder and harder with her hands, her voice getting more desperate.

 _Dealing with me must be such a burden for her…_

I unscrewed the lid and looked into the bottle. How many pills was I supposed to take again? It had been so long since I took any. The more I took, the longer I could sleep, right?

If only I could just sleep and never wake up. If I took more, it would probably be better, faster and more effective. The concept of overdosing had completely slipped from my mind. When Blossom finally managed to force the door opened, I had chugged a handful of pills into my mouth and forced them down my throat.

* * *

 **I hope this isn't getting too much lol... I should be finishing the other story but urgh! I just love this story so much. Like I LOVE this story. Writing this makes me so happy even though I'm practically just torturing poor Brick. I think I have a thing for torturing characters. It just makes me so happy. Lol I think I need help.**

 **On a side note, I want to thank everyone for your follows, favourites and reviews. Although this story hasn't been as well received as The Boys Are Back in Town Again was, I really love this one so much more so whenever a new notification on this comes up, I get all excited. Hehe.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Brick!" Blossom gasped, running to me and throwing herself to her knees so that we were leveled. "What did you just take?"

"Sleeping pills," I replied. "I'm tired and I want to sleep."

She hurriedly took the bottle and looked at it, turning it around to check the words written on it. "Shit, Brick!" she cried out, holding onto my shoulders. "How many did you take?"

"I don't know…"

"You have to throw them up now!" she gasped, getting on her feet and pulling me along. "You're going to kill yourself, idiot!"

But by then, the effects were starting to kick in. As Blossom pulled me up to my feet and towards the bathroom, I staggered forward in a daze. I was pushed to my knees in front of the toilet but all I did was look up at her.

"Brick, you need to throw them up now!" she screamed at me.

"Blossom… I want to sleep."

Blossom's eyes widened and she immediately threw herself beside me, pushing my head forward with one hand. Her other hand moved to my mouth and she shoved her fingers in, all the way till I was gagging. I tried to push her away. My head was pushed to an awkward angle and her fingers were pushed all the way into my throat. I felt tears form and fall out of my eyes as I coughed and gagged. As I struggled in her grasp that was starting to hurt, I felt my body convulse and I leaned forward, grabbing the sides of the toilet. I hadn't eaten anything since the pizza slice I had with the girls and my brothers. When I threw up, it was a foul-tasting liquid that came out. It kinda felt like it was burning my throat, almost as if it was some sort of acid (stomach acid maybe, I don't know… I'm kinda bad in biology). I could still see the pills amidst the yellowish liquid, dissolving but barely dissolved. As I burst into a coughing fit, Blossom leaned back against the sink and pulled me along till I was partly lying against her. My head was throbbing and I closed my eyes, trying to ease the pain. It didn't really help much and I opened them again, my vision blurry.

"What… just happened?" I hadn't realized that my brothers were watching. I hadn't known they were even there.

"Brick tried to kill himself, you assholes!" Blossom yelled.

"What?" I heard Boomer's voice, soft with disbelief.

 _No, I just wanted to sleep._

"Boomer, go and get me the first aid kit. Butch, get some water," Blossom ordered.

I felt her arms wrap around me as she pulled me closer to her. I felt her rest her chin on my head and she lightly stroked my hair. I had stopped coughing but I was still breathing hard, almost wheezing. I realized that my body was trembling and my eyes were still tearing. I rubbed my eyes as Blossom moved her head to look down at me. Her hold was so warm, and even though it was almost summer and everything was already starting to heat up, I found myself enjoying the comfort of her warmth. Why though? Wasn't she an enemy? So why was I enjoying her hold?

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"It hurts," I murmured softly. I wasn't sure myself what exactly I was referring to. It could be anything. Blossom seemed to get it and she nodded, hugging me tighter.

 _Oh god, don't ever let go…_

When my brothers arrived, Blossom pushed me off her slightly, letting me sit on my own. My back was still turned to my brothers and I had no intention of turning to look at them, especially not when they had seen me in such an embarrassing situation. Why I wasn't bothered by Blossom, I couldn't help but wonder.

"Brick, take off your shirt," Blossom instructed.

"Bloss—"

"Just do it," she snapped, cutting me off. I removed my shirt and she passed me the glass of water. As I sipped the water, Blossom started removing my bandages.

"Blossom, I don't understand. What's going on?" Boomer asked.

"I can't believe neither of you noticed this!" Blossom complained. "You live in the same house. You see him everyday. How could it not have occurred to you that he could be doing stuff like this to himself?"

"Stuff like what?" Boomer cried out. "Blossom I really don't understand what's going on!"

Why was she so pissed?

Blossom dropped the bandages on the ground and gritted her teeth. Looking at her, I could tell she was about to say something yet she seemed to be considering her words. I didn't want my brothers to know. I didn't want them to find out about me. Even if they'd seen me at that moment, they didn't need to know more.

"It's nothing to worry about, really," I said, turning my head to look at them slightly. "I'm fine. I accidentally ate too much…"

"Really?" Boomer wondered. Beside him, Butch merely stared at me with wide eyes.

"No!" Blossom screamed. "See? This! _This_ is exactly the problem here!"

"Blossom, please stop," I whispered to her. "They don't need to know."

"They do!" she snapped, pointing her finger at me warningly. "Brick, you stay out of this!"

"Blossom, please don't," I sighed, holding onto her arm. "Please. I'm begging you."

"Brick… you don't understand. The problem is basically that you never tell them anything," Blossom sighed.

"Blossom please. I trust you with this… just… leave it be," I pleaded.

Blossom grimaced, obviously at a loss over what she should do. Eventually, she nodded and turned to my brothers.

"Could you guys leave us alone for now? I'll explain later or something… if he wants me to," she said. I turned my head slightly to look at my brothers, who exchanged confused glances before they nodded. Blossom and I stayed in silence as my brothers left, until we heard the door of my room close. Blossom continued changing my bandages, not saying a single word.

"Are you pissed?" I asked slowly.

Blossom shrugged. "Maybe a little," she replied. "You're so stupid, Brick."

I looked down at myself. "I don't know why I did it to be honest," I admitted. "It just… happened."

"And those pills just happened as well?" she snapped.

"Yeah… I guess…"

"I don't want you to die, Brick," she sighed.

I remained silent as she tossed the used bandages into the bin and got up to wash her hands. Blossom took a bunch of toilet paper and passed it to me.

"Clean yourself up," she instructed and I did as she said, wiping my face with them.

"Do you want to take a shower?" she asked. "I'll wait outside if you do… Though, I guess we'd have to remove the bandages."

"I'll take one later," I replied, getting up as well. My body was hurting, especially my stomach and my throat. Trembling slightly from the pain, I started to limp out of the bathroom. Blossom followed after me. When I sat on the corner on my bed, she sat down beside me. We stayed silent for a moment.

"Tell me everything," she instructed.

"Okay," I replied, though I knew it was impossible to tell her the full truth.

"I'm serious, Brick. I want to know everything," she said sternly.

I couldn't possibly tell her about HIM, the park and Mitch and his gang. Blossom would throw me into prison without a doubt. Even if she wanted to help, her duties always came first for her. That was the kind of person she was. Even though she was the only person who seemed to be nice to me and who seemed to care for me, I couldn't even trust her fully.

 _What the fuck? What this is bullshit? I can't even trust her._

"Brick, what's wrong?" she asked. Blossom turned her body to face me and she took my hands in hers, holding me tightly, though gently.

"I don't know," I whispered. "Everything. Everything's wrong."

"I want to help you," she said, pulling me to turn and look at her. "Please. Trust me."

I wanted to trust her. I wanted to trust her and to tell her everything. But I couldn't. No matter what, I couldn't let her know the truth.

"I'm tired, Blossom. I want to sleep," I said. It wasn't exactly untrue. I did want to sleep.

Blossom bit her lip, turning away from me with a slight huff of annoyance. "This sucks," she complained. "I want to help you but I don't know what's wrong or what I should do. You're not telling me anything as well. I guess it makes sense though. Why would you want my help? All this is because of me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I ruined your life, didn't I? Defeating you boys and making you sign the treaty… I should have just killed you instead, huh?" she mused.

"Yeah, you should have," I admitted. "Why didn't you?"

"You said you didn't want to die, Brick," she replied, smiling weakly, "and I thought that if that's what you want, who am I to take your life away from you?"

"This… Everything… None of it is your fault. I understand that you just want to help the city and do your hero thing and all," I replied. "I don't blame you. It's all me. I don't know what to do anymore, Blossom. I can't find joy in this life at all. I try to be normal but no one's seeing it. Everything's my fault even though I didn't do anything. Everyone hates me. Everyone in the city hates me. Everyone in school hates me. Even my brothers hate me. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"No one sees you for who you are, huh?" Blossom sighed. "Maybe we're more similar than we thought."

"This is stupid," I muttered.

"I used to be so jealous of you Brick," she continued. "No one expects anything big of you. You don't have to pretend to be the perfect person for everyone. You can just do whatever you want and no one will be disappointed if you make a mistake. I thought you had it easy. I'm sorry… because I thought of you that way, I never noticed the signs."

"Signs?"

"You eat less. You talk less. You barely come out of your room. You isolate yourself, even from your brothers. I should have realized something was going on. I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's not your fault," I murmured. Even my brothers hadn't noticed anything. I didn't expect Blossom to.

"But if only I had seen it, I could have… I could have stopped you from hurting yourself," she said, tightening her grip on my hands, her fingers digging into my skin.

I found myself smiling weakly at her. "You're such a good person, Blossom… You don't want anyone to be hurt, not even someone like me."

She looked up at me and I could see, at the corner of her eyes, slight hints of tears. Why was she crying because of me? I never would be able to understand that girl. She was really such a strange one. But why? Why did she have to be my enemy? As she blinked her eyes, the tears started to fall. My hands moved without my really telling them to and I reached for her face, swiping my thumbs over the droplets.

"Idiot, why are you crying?" I chuckled softly.

"I don't know… Sometimes I get so angry that I start crying," she said.

"Did I really piss you off with the pills thing?"

"No…" she said. "It's just that… I think about the position you're in and I find myself really angry. Why do you have to go through all of this even though you try so hard to reform? It's unfair."

But did I really try hard to reform? Didn't I tell HIM that I wanted to be who I used to be? Wasn't that the reason he gave me that new ability? When I said that, was I being truthful or did I just say it in a spur of my anger and hatred? Why did I say that? Did I really want to be evil and hated again? Did I want the ability to be openly evil again? I didn't know what I wanted, not anymore. My mind was blank as I asked myself those questions. There was no answer.

"I don't know what to do Brick. I want to help you!" Blossom cried out. She leaned forward and threw her arms around me, hugging me again, though it felt very different from when we were in the bathroom.

"Blossom, what are you doing?" I asked quickly. Shit. If Boomer or Butch happened to show up, it would have be really hard to explain.

 _But weren't they watching us in the toilet just now?_

The realization made my cheeks heat up. Not only had they seen me probably in my weakest, they had witnessed me being comforted by my only enemy. Plus, I had made no effort to push her away at all. Given, I was exhausted and my mind was in a state of confusion but how would they have known that? They couldn't even see my face from where they were.

Ah shit. That really was bad.

"I don't know what I can do to help you, Brick, but I just want you to know that I am here for you, Brick. I know that you probably wouldn't want to seek help from a professional so I'm going to be here for you instead, Brick. Please, talk to me." She sounded like she was begging me. Blossom pulled herself closer, her chin pressed down against my shoulder. She sounded so honest with me and I knew that she was being honest. But I also knew that it was because she believed that I had changed and that I was no longer evil. She wouldn't be hugging me if she knew I had destroyed the park. She wouldn't be crying for me if she knew that I was the cause of Dylan becoming an orphan. She wouldn't be worried about me if she knew I was the reason her old classmates were dead. She would hate me, just like she used to. If she didn't throw me in prison, she probably would have killed me herself.

I was deceiving her. The only girl who actually cared about me was being deceived by the person she trusted so much. Oh god, was I really that low a person? Suddenly, I hated myself with a strange new intensity. What I felt on the night I cut myself couldn't compare to this. What I felt right before I chugged the pills was nothing like this. It was a new feeling of disgust and self-loathing. I hated myself. I shouldn't be held by her. She shouldn't be touching me. I should push her away. I had to push her away.

But I found myself pulling her closer. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me, till she was partially on my lap. My head rested nicely in the curve of her neck and as I breathed in, I could smell the sweet scent of strawberries from her. My hand moved up her back and to her head, my fingers threading through the tresses of her hair. I was pulling her closer even more.

 _I should let go… I'm sorry Blossom. I'm no good…_

But I didn't want to let go. I didn't want it to end. I had always wanted to feel it— the comfort of being in someone arms. Even if that person was an enemy, I wanted it. As I pulled her closer and hugged her tighter, I could only wish that I was entirely a different person, that I had no blood on my hands and that I had the right to be holding her. I could only dream about that, just like how I had been dreaming of greatness and acceptance. It gave me all the more reason for me to dream. It gave me more reasons to sleep and to never want to wake up.

"Brick… I'm here for you," Blossom whispered. I could feel her stroking my hair. My eyes were closed shut and I couldn't see her expression. I was sure it was a gentle one, just like everything else about her— just like her gentle touches, her gentle words and her gentle smell. She was so gentle that even as I held her, I was afraid that I might hurt her.

Goddamit, why was I even thinking that way? I was supposed to hurt her. I wasn't supposed to be friends with her nor was I supposed to be hugging her. I was supposed to kill her. It was an opportune chance. Her guard was completely down, unlike all the other times she was with me. I could kill her now. I could kill her and become what I was supposed to do. All it took was a simple twist— just the snap of her neck.

But all we did was to pull apart slightly. It was just a little, not too much. Blossom pulled herself away just enough to move herself to look closely at me. Our faces were so close, our foreheads almost touching. She moved her hands to my face, brushing her fingers against my cheek, wiping off the wetness with a slight laugh. I hadn't even realized that I was crying. I didn't notice the tears falling out of my eyes.

"Hey, I've never realized this before… but you're actually pretty good-looking, huh?" she mused. She wasn't laughing outwardly but I could hear the laughter in her voice. Just slightly, it made me smile. I could feel the sides of my mouth twitch and I could see Blossom brightening up from her reaction. It was a cycle. As I saw her smile, I smiled and as she saw me smile, she smiled.

"It took you twelve years to realize that," I replied. I could hear it in my voice as well— the slight laughter. I had never heard myself speak like this before. In fact, I had never recalled ever feeling so comfortable with someone. Was it because essentially, we were the same person? Weren't we just a side of each other just like my brothers and her sisters were?

"Well, it's not that I've never known. It's just that I never appreciated it," Blossom said with a slight playful roll of her eyes. "I was so fixated on seeing the bad in you, I've never noticed anything else."

I think we had gotten closer. The atmosphere seemed to change as well. Her hands had stilled on my cheeks. "Oh yeah?" I murmured, moving even closer to her. "Like what?"

Blossom's head was tilted slightly. I was slightly aware of her climbing onto my legs. One of her hands remained on my cheek while the other grabbed my shirt. She was kneeling so she was a little higher than I was. Blossom had pulled me to look up at her face and she leaned forward even more. We were so close now. Our noses were practically touching.

"Your eyes are so deep. Your jaws are so defined. Your skin is so smooth… And your lips," she murmured. By then, our lips were almost touching.

"My lips?" I urged.

Blossom didn't answer immediately because at that moment, our lips touched. It was hard to tell who exactly was pushing forward. It could have been me. It could have been her. We molded our lips together, groaning as we pressed our bodies against each other, almost as if we truly were the same being. Our hands were wandering about, exploring places we never would have thought of touching normally. With a tug of my hair, Blossom broke apart from me, letting us regain our lost breath. I was panting much more than I had in awhile. But it didn't matter to me. Breathing didn't matter anymore.

Blossom leaned forward again and I felt her bite lightly on my bottom lip, tugging it weakly with her teeth. I heard a grunt escape from my throat as I pulled her in again, our lips parted this time. As our tongues clashed and we pushed against each other, I could feel myself falling backwards till I was lying on my bed. Blossom was straddling me, her body still pressed against mine and her hands clasped onto my shirt, pulling and tugging it with a force that I was worried would rip the fabric apart. My eyes were starting to get heavy, probably partially from fatigue and partially from the effects of the pills that had somewhat dissolved in me already. But I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want it to end.

"Your lips… are so soft," she continued, speaking against my lips. She moved her lips down from my lips, to my chin and to my neck, lightly nipping on a spot that made me groan. Blossom pushed herself up at the sound of my voice, propping herself up on her arms that were on the sides of my head and looking down at me with a very strange but soothing smile.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing… It's just that I think your eyes are your best feature," she said. As we stared at each other, I saw a slight frown cross her face. With one hand, she slowly widened my right eye, turning my head so that my right side was facing her more than my left. "Brick, that scar…"

 _Oh fuck…_

"It's nothing," I said, glancing away from her. I wasn't looking at her anymore and that was all she needed to see to tell that I was lying.

"Brick." She had taken that tone on again, her stern and demanding one. Suddenly, I didn't like that tone anymore, even though it was what made her her in my eyes. I didn't want her to treat me like that anymore.

"I'm sorry," I said, almost choking.

"What did you do?" she asked, pushing my face so that I was looking at her again. The gentle smile was back on but this time, I wasn't smiling anymore. I could feel a lump in my throat. I could feel my eyes start to hurt.

"I hate them, Blossom," I whispered. "I hate my eyes."

"But why? They're so beautiful," she whispered.

Beautiful was something I couldn't ever be. Beauty was to be idolized and looked up to. It wasn't made for the scum of society. It was made for the cream. That's why, there was no doubt, that the girl that was sitting on me was probably the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. But I was the complete opposite. I was beneath her, both literally and figuratively. There was a meaning behind everything. This was it.

"The absolute villain of this town in the boy with red eyes. No matter what he does, those eyes are evil," I said.

"No! No, Brick!" Blossom gasped softly. "Do they say all those things about you? This city is just…"

"I hate them, Bloss. I hate my eyes," I said again. "I hate them so much… so I… I stabbed it." I raised my hand and placed it over my right eye. "I wanted to gorge them out. I hated them… But instead, I plunged a piece of broken glass in. It had hurt a lot… but it felt so right… I deserved it. My eye deserved it."

Blossom was shaking her head. She took my hand off my face and leaned forward. My eyes fell shut. I had expected another kiss on the lips but Blossom pressed her lips softly against my eyes— first my right, then my left. I felt her move back slightly and I opened my eyes a little. My eyelids were getting so heavy it was hard to open them. I wonder what kind of expression I had on with my half-lidded eyes as I reached for her again. Blossom looked like she was about to cry again. This time we kissed with much more force and hunger, though breaking apart more frequently.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" I whispered amidst the kiss. I didn't know who I was saying it to. I didn't know if it was meant for Blossom or if it was meant for me. I just kept reciting it every time we broke apart.

"You must have been so lonely and sad," Blossom whispered. "This is all my fault."

"No… No, it's not," I whispered back, pulling her in for more. "You've only done good… You're the only one that cares."

"Oh god, Brick," she cried out softly. "Your brothers care about you. They really do."

I couldn't open my eyes anymore. My movements were getting weaker as sleep started to envelop my mind. "I don't care," I mumbled. "You're all that I need. You're all that matters." I could feel myself going still even though Blossom's lips were still on mine. I could feel her take one of my hands and her fingers found their way between mine, her thumb lightly stroking mine. It felt so nice. I never wanted her to let go.

She moved to press a kiss on the side of my temple. "Sweet dreams, Brick. You're safe now."

I did have a dream but it wasn't sweet. It was really less of a dream and more of a summon by HIM. I opened my eyes to find myself in a pink smog. As I looked around and it started to dissipate, I saw HIM in front of me, seated on a pink velvet couch. He was seated on raised ground, so much so he looked like he was throned.

"Hello, Brick, it's been awhile," HIM said. "Did you enjoy your little make-out session with your biggest enemy?"

"You were watching me?" I snapped. "Creep!"

"I wasn't exactly watching you. I'm omniscient. I see everything," HIM replied. "I go by many names, Brick. Some people think of me as a creature of the Underworld, a demon. Others, see me as a God. Really, it's all up to interpretation. If you want to see me as a creep, I'm not stopping you."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I gave you those eyes for a reason and you made me wait so long till you used them… and on what? A refrigerator!" HIM scoffed, leaning back into his seat. He crossed his legs and stared down at me. "And even when you used it on those boys, it was completely by accident."

"You didn't exactly leave me with the clearest of instructions," I pointed out.

"Oh? So you want instructions now?" he gasped mockingly. "Alright, here they are. Kill the Powerpuff Girls. Blossom especially. Kill her."

He told me to kill Blossom. He was asking me to kill the girl that a few moments ago, was holding me closely, crying for me and comforting me. He was asking me to kill the only person that was there for me, the only person I had.

"Fuck you," I snapped.

"Oh? This is a really unexpected change in events." He had said that but his voice betrayed no tinge of unexpectedness. In fact, he seemed more likely to have predicted this turn of events.

"You said you'll give me a way to be evil without the girls knowing. None of this involves killing them," I scowled.

HIM grinned widely before he threw his head back and burst out into laughing. "But my dear boy, weren't you and your brothers the one who decided that the only thing evil to you was the defeat of the girls. Wasn't that all that really mattered?"

"No… that was in the past!" I exclaimed. "It's different now. I don't want to hurt them. I don't want to hurt her!"

"But do you think she cares?"

"She does!" I insisted. When did I become so pathetic that I required Blossom to protect and care for me? When did I fall so low that I was worrying about the enemy?

"She won't care the moment she finds out the truth and you know that. What she sees now is a boy trying his best to change but being shunned by society. What she sees is a boy desperate to ease his pain, he hurts himself in the process. She doesn't understand you, Brick. She doesn't understand the gratification of pain. She can never enjoy it like you can," HIM said.

My body started feeling really heavy that I collapsed onto my knees. I looked up at HIM and he was grinning down at me. Something was starting to hurt a lot. I looked down at myself and I could see droplets of scarlet liquid on my jeans. Something was bleeding. I looked around and as I turned my left arm around, my eyes widened. A long gash was forming on my arm. An incinerating pain was following it but it was a different kind of pain. It wasn't the pain from the bathroom that gave me release and felt almost orgasamic. This one made me scream. It made me claw at my very wound at an attempt at making it stop widening— a desperate attempt to ease the pain, only to make it worse.

"Stop it! Fuck you. Stop it, you fucking—" I couldn't finish saying anything as every time I spoke, I broke off gagging and screaming as more wounds started appearing on my body. I ripped my shirt off. I ripped my pants off. I was practically bare as I stared at myself turn red from more wounds that spilled more blood out.

"Stop it, HIM!" I screamed.

"But well, that's how a normal person feels pain, Brick. They don't get off from it like you do," HIM said lazily.

"I don't get off… stop…" I coughed, blood spluttering out of my mouth. "Stop…"

"This is not enough, right?" HIM sighed and he waved his claw.

I felt my hands move on their own accords. I was made to raise them to my face and towards my eyes. A sense of dread started filling me as my fingers pressed against my eyelid, pushing forward between the ball and the bone. As I begged and cried for mercy, my fingers only pressed down harder. HIM's laughter was filling my ears as I writhed about in a pool of my own blood, trying to stop my own fingers.

My right eye went dark first as something popped. Warm liquid was trailing out of where my eye was supposed to be but I couldn't tell if it was blood, tears or a mixture of both. I was screaming louder as the entire of the right side of my head burst into an endless pain. HIM's laughter was going louder and louder.

When my left eye went and I went completely blind, the pain immediately faded to complete numbness. The lack of pain was relieving but panicking at the same time. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't move. Was my body still there? Was I still alive? I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see anything. I could only smell the pungent stench of blood still hanging in the air. I could only taste the bitterness of my own spit in my mouth, gathered from all my screaming. My ears were still ringing with HIM's laughter.

 **Next time, don't disappoint me.**

There was a sudden pain again that had me screaming as I jumped up. I opened my eyes to find myself back in my room. Looking down at myself, I saw no signs of the wounds that HIM had caused. I was breathing hard. I was perspiring profusely till my body was coated with my own sweat. My door was thrown open and I saw Boomer run in, his eyes wide in fear.

"Brick, what happened? I heard you scream," he said. I don't know how I looked at that point in time but it seemed to scare Boomer even further. He scrambled over to me and immediately hugged me tightly. "Shit. What happened? You're shaking."

I was trembling pretty badly. I saw Butch rush in as well but he hung about near the door, looking at Boomer and I. "What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Boomer said. "What happened, Brick? Was it a dream?"

Was it really just a dream? I looked down at my shaking hands, which only a few moments ago, were covered in my own blood. My body was covered in my own blood. I was sitting in my own blood. Blood was everywhere. I went blind. I almost died. Did I die? What actually happened?

The answer was obvious. HIM. HIM happened.

"He's after me… He's going to kill me…" That was all I managed to say.

"Brick, what are you talking about?" Boomer asked.

"He's going to kill me… I don't want to die… I don't want to die… Help me…"

 _I see… So I do say stuff like that…_

"Don't let him get me," I whispered, grabbing onto Boomer's shirt. "Help me. I don't want to die."

Needless to say, after that, I never had dreams anymore. All I had were nightmares.

* * *

 **I was really hesitant about uploading this chapter. I didn't know if it got a little too much and I'm kinda worried about the ratings. I actually wrote this together with the previous chapter. I had intended it to be one full chapter but it turned out to be too long. Way too long. In fact, even this one is about a thousand words longer than usual. But I really did like writing this, both the scene with Blossom and the scene with HIM.**

 **Thank you for all your support everyone. I really look forward to reading all your reviews. I'm going to try and upload more frequently now, before everything starts getting intense... Well, so that's about it. See ya!**


	8. Chapter 8

I didn't go to school for the remainder of the week. Even though it was the last week of school before the summer break, I stayed at home, mainly in my room. Even during the first week of summer, I stayed mainly in my room, leaving only for meals in the dining area. When I did go out, my brothers tried to be nice to me. I didn't know how much they knew about my situation. I didn't know what Blossom told them, though I was pretty sure she told them something. They were nice to me but it seemed so forced that most of the time, I remained in my room to avoid the awkward looks and words we would exchange.

In the two weeks, I barely got any proper sleep. My dreams were haunted by images of HIM and different sensations of pain. I could feel him burning me, skinning me, chopping me and ripping me apart. I was choked. I was beaten. I was thrown about. I could never fight back. I was helpless. And every dream ended the same way— with me gorging my eyes out till I woke up screaming. Nights when I slept I had those dreams. Other nights were just filled with me tossing and turning about in bed restlessly, drifting in and out of sleep in fifteen minute intervals. I was exhausted but I could never get proper rest. Every night, I was too terrified to close my eyes. I was too terrified to take my pills as well. What if I slept too deep and couldn't wake up? Wouldn't it just elongate the pain and suffering? All I could do was wait for myself to fall tired enough, until I couldn't stand staying up anymore.

The more time went on, the more determined I was to appease HIM. Even if I had to kill Blossom, so be it. It would at least ease the pain I was feeling. I could go back to a life where I didn't have to be afraid of sleeping even. The next time we met, I would do it. I would kill her.

When Blossom finally gave me a call, I thought it was my ticket out.

"I'm sorry I couldn't meet up with you the past week," she said, sighing. It was the second Saturday of the summer break. Blossom had called me late in the morning but on a typical day, I would sleep till way past noon. Normally, I probably would have slept through the ringing of my phone but I was already long-awake.

"It's okay… I know you're busy with college work. I don't want to burden you," I admitted.

"I'm free today. We could go out if you want," she suggested.

"Go out?" I murmured uncomfortably. I got out of my bed and opened the blinds to look out of the window. The park was gone but I could see them start to rebuild it. They were filling the crater I left with sand. It wasn't going to be done soon and when it was, it wasn't going to be as happy as it used to be.

"Yeah… Actually, my sisters are throwing a party at home today for those in your year. Technically, you're invited as well," she admitted.

"No one told me," I stated flatly.

"Boomer said he mentioned it to you but you said no," Blossom replied.

"Did he? Well then, I guess I forgot about it… Or maybe I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation during dinner."

"You could come," Blossom suggested.

"No."

"Why not? I'll stick by your side the entire time," Blossom replied. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"No," I repeated.

"Gosh, Brick, I didn't know you were scared of a little party," she sighed.

"I'm not scared!"

"Then?"

"Then…"

"See? You are scared!" Blossom exclaimed. Although she was making fun of me, the sense of victory in her voice made me smile a little.

"Alright, alright. I'll go for your stupid party," I muttered.

"Okay, cool," Blossom said. "But that wasn't what I mean when I said we should go out."

"What now?" I groaned.

"About the party… I need to pick up a dress for it," Blossom said. "Wanna help me pick one out?"

"What am I? Your fashion advisor?"

"Well, I would say you do have a good sense of fashion," Blossom admitted.

"It comes with my looks."

"So are you coming or not?" she asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Fine fine," I muttered. "I'll meet you at the entrance of the mall."

"I'll see you at eleven," Blossom said, right before hanging up.

I glanced at the clock hanging on my wall. I had an hour till the meeting, which gave me enough time to get ready slowly. Staring out of the window one last time, I closed the blinds and headed to the bathroom. My mirror had still not been fixed and half of it was still broken. But it gave me enough glass for me to look at myself.

Even though my wounds had healed and my scars had mostly faded, I looked much worse than I ever had before. There were pretty obvious bags under my eyes, my skin looked pale and my eyes looked as if I had lost all hope in life (maybe I had). Well, hopefully, if I went to wash up, I would be able to freshen up a little and look a little less like a zombie and more like a human.

I stripped my clothes off and went under the shower, letting the water fall on myself. The warm water that fell onto my face and eyes removed the sleep that was slightly clogging my mind, letting me think clearer as I got more alert.

 **Now's a really good chance.**

 _I know._

HIM rarely talked to me aside from my dreams. His excited voice started annoying me as I lathered and washed myself. There was no way I wanted to truly kill Blossom after our… _interaction_ … the other day. But I knew that the longer I waited, the more HIM was going to mess with me and the further away I was from getting peace. I knew that if I did not kill her, I would be faced with a slow death, one that killed me over and over again until I lost myself in the insanity of my own pain.

 _I'm sorry, Blossom… I have to do this._

 **For yourself.**

 _For myself…_

 **You're so pathetic that it's making me laugh.**

I tried to ignore his laugher as I stepped out of the shower and dried myself. I headed out and to my closet, deciding to choose a decent outfit. After standing in front of my open closet, I decided on a simple red shirt with black jeans. Since my scars were mostly gone and I didn't exactly need to hide them from Blossom, I chose short-sleeves. At least, I wouldn't die from the heat. I slipped on my shoes and glanced at my clock again. I still had some time for breakfast.

Boomer and Butch were already up and neither of them seemed to be going out in the afternoon. Boomer was seated on the couch, with his sketchbook on his lap as he drew something in it. It was probably for that art fair thing he mentioned the other day. Maybe I should drop by when it was on. It'll probably take him by surprise. Butch was seated on the floor, holding a controller in his hand as he played whatever game he was playing. I watched the screen for a moment before I headed to the kitchen to pour myself some orange juice and to make myself a peanut butter sandwich.

"Someone seems happy today," Boomer commented. "What's up, Brick?"

"Nothing much," I replied, taking my sandwich and drink outside. Butch was still absorbed in his game and I continued staring at his screen, until I noticed something. "Hey, bro, there's one coming up from behind—"

It's faster to notice a zombie sneaking up on you and finishing it off yourself than to warn someone that a zombie was coming up on him so that he could finish it off.

"Ah! Where did that come from?" Butch yelled, jumping up to his feet.

"I told you it was coming up," I said, biting into my sandwich.

"Well, you could have said so earlier!" Butch complained. "Ahhh! You've always been better at this than I am."

"It would be embarassing if I wasn't," I joked, taking another bite. "You suck."

"Brick, you're good in a lot of things. You just never try. Ms Winters said you probably could end up as valedictorian if you actually did something," Boomer said.

"She did, huh?" I sighed, looking down at him. Boomer seemed to be working on an artpiece of a girl. It was of a girl in pigtails, surrounded by flowers, all drawn in a rather intimate sort of way. "That's kinda good."

"Who's that supposed to be?" Butch asked, leaning forward to look at it too. "Oh, is it _her_?"

I didn't exactly have to ask who Butch was referring to. There was only one person in Townsville who still wore pigtails and was acquainted with Boomer.

"I don't know. It's just an image I had in my mind… Maybe I'll hand it in for the art exhibition," Boomer replied, looking up with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Are you going out, Brick? You've dressed up."

"Yeah, Blossom asked me to help her pick out some things. She didn't seem like she was going to take no for an answer," I replied.

"Well, alright. Have fun," Boomer replied. "We'll be late today. We're dropping by the girls' place for their party."

"Oh, really? Okay, I'll see you there," I said. I took a swing of my orange juice, finishing it in one go.

"I thought you weren't going," Butch said, frowning slightly.

"I… I'm going with Blossom," I said, suddenly feeling embarassed about it. I headed to the kitchen to rinse and return the glass.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between the two of you?" Butch asked when I came back out. As I looked at them, I was greeted by a pair of smirks.

"What? There's nothing!" I insisted. "We're just friends and I'm just meeting her to help her pick out some clothes."

"Clothes that you're probably going to be removing tonight, huh?" Butch teased, making my cheeks heat up as my brain unnecessarily conjured up the image. Blossom in a beautiful dress. Blossom on a bed. Me, standing over her, leaning over her.

 _Oh god no. No no no. I was supposed to be killing her._

"We're not going to do anything like that!" I insisted.

"Brick, it's about time you lost your viginity, you know. As our elder brother, you should set the example," Butch mused.

"What are you talking about Butch? Haven't you already lost it?" Boomer commented casually.

"What? How do you know that?"

"So you really did, huh?"

As my brothers continued bickering, I felt a small smile grow on my face as I headed towards the door. Our interactions seemed refreshing and happier but everything felt like a huge pretense. Maybe my brothers really did care for me and all they needed was a push to start showing it. Maybe they really were just pretending. Whatever it was, I decided not to put much thought into it. Maybe I needed to just get use to it and rebuild our broken relationship.

I wasn't late. In fact, I was five minutes early. Still, Blossom was already there. She was wearing a pink sundress and red flats. Her hair was pulled up in her usual ponytail, held together by her ribbon. Blossom spotted me and she grinned, coming over to meet me. Even before saying anything, she leaned forward and lightly kissed me on my cheek. Glancing around, I could see people looking at us.

"Blossom, we're in public," I hissed as she pulled back to look at me.

"So?" she asked, tilting her head playfully.

"There are people around. They're going to start judging you if you just kiss me so openly," I snapped.

"Let them. If they think my worth is determined by the people I hang out with, their opinions don't bother me. If they think your worth is determined by your past, their opinions shouldn't bother you," she said. "Come on. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, what about you?" I asked, recalling my purpose for meeting her. I was supposed to kill her. In the middle of the mall, if I used my ability, no one can push the blame onto me. It would be impossible to deny my innocence. I just had to look at her and wish for her death.

As we walked forward, I fixed my eyes on her. Blossom wasn't looking at me, busy with trying to decide on the store she should visit. All I needed to think of was how I hated her and how I wanted her death.

 _I…_

I remembered her hands around me.

 _Do I hate you?_

I remembered her warm embrace.

 _I need to hate you._

I remembered her lips on mine.

 _I can't… I can't do this… I don't want this…_

I could hear her words of comfort and reassurance.

If I killed her, I would be all alone again, wouldn't I? If I killed her, no one would be there for me anymore. Everything would go back to what it was. If it wasn't for Blossom, Boomer and Butch would still be treating me like a stranger. If it wasn't for Blossom, I probably would have died that day from the pills.

 _I can't kill her._

 _Fuck._

If I didn't kill her, I would be the one suffering. If I didn't kill her, my life would just be filled with pain. It was the only way to save myself. It was the only way I could protect myself. I needed to kill her.

 _And then what?_

If Blossom died, would I be upset? Would I blame myself and probably curse myself over my guilt?

 _No no no. I need to... I don't want to..._

 **What are you doing, Brick? Kill her now.**

 _I can't._

 **Look here, you pathetic wuss, I gave you this ability so that you can become great and entertain me. Now, provide me with some entertainment before I find something myself.**

 _No..._

I could sense HIM's annoyance radiating throughout my mind.

"Brick, are you okay?" Blossom asked, turning to look at me. "You look like you're planning a murder."

She didn't even realize how close she was to the truth. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking," I replied.

"About what?"

"About how I can't hate you anymore," I admitted.

 **Fine. If that's your answer. You're going to regret this, Brick.**

Blossom's eyes widened and she turned away immediately. "Really? I… I see… Come on, let's go over to that one."

I followed Blossom as she went from store to store, trying on dresses and clothes and asking me for my opinion. Well honestly, I thought she looked good in most of the clothes she tried on. I hadn't noticed before but Blossom had a really nice body and most of the dresses hugged her curves nicely, showing her chest, hips and legs off. As I watched her in her clothes, I suddenly felt self-conscious. My clothes did a good job of covering my lacking body but I was aware of how my body had degraded the past year. I saw myself everyday in the mirror. I had lost a lot of weight. I wasn't all skin and bones till I looked anorexic or anything. I still had some muscles on me but most of them had gone. I barely had any abs, my biceps were no longer tough and my thighs were going soft. Maybe I should have picked up a sport like Butch did or occasionally hang out and play something like Boomer did. Even going to the gym sometimes would have been better. Well, since it was the summer, I could consider starting a new routine.

"Brick, what do you think of this one?" she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

The moment I looked at her, I knew that it was the one. The dress was casual, yet at the same time, it was so feminine and flowy that it made her look almost saintly. The soft pink colour of the dress complimented the pale tone of her skin and the white ribbon that was tied around her waist distinctly served as a reminder of how perfect her body was.

"This is the one," I said. "You should get it."

"Really? I guess it does look good," she murmured thoughtfully. She flashed a grin. "Do I look good enough that I took your breath away? You were looking kinda dazed before I asked you."

"No, no that's not it… I was just wondering if I should start working out or something," I admitted.

"Really? Why?" Blossom asked.

"No… This morning, I was looking in the mirror and I realized how skinny I've gotten. I probably should start working out or playing a sport or something," I sighed.

"You need to eat more," she said plainly. "I'm going to get changed. Why don't you take a look at some clothes? Maybe you should get something as well."

As Blossom went to change, I wandered over to the guys' section. I didn't really intend to buy anything. I had more than enough clothes at home. But I had to admit. The clothes there were pretty had formal and casual clothes, all in different colours and patterns. I remembered people talking about plans for a dance at the end of the year. Maybe if I decided to go, I would get myself clothes from that shop. A red tuxedo sounded like a good plan.

"Are you getting anything?" Blossom slapped me lightly on the back as she joined me. She had changed out of the dress and she was now carrying it in one arm.

"No. It's just a party. It's not like we're going to prom or anything," I commented.

"When prom comes around, would you go?" Blossom asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it depends if I can get a date in the first place."

"I'm sure you will," Blossom replied. "Princess Morbucks will die to go to prom with you."

 _Ah, no thanks._

"I'd rather not go," I admitted as I followed Blossom to the cashier. After Blossom paid for her dress, the two of us walked out and wandered around aimlessly in silence for awhile before we stopped near the entrance and turned to each other.

"Now what?" I asked.

Blossom glanced at her phone. "It's only been an hour," she said. "Are you hungry? It's going to be lunch soon."

"Not really," I replied.

"Well, then, I guess I should be going home. I might as well try to finish up some assignments before the party," Blossom said. "Wanna come with me?"

"To your house? It'll be kinda awkward since your sisters are there and all," I replied.

"I was referring to my apartment," Blossom admitted. "I live alone now so it wouldn't be too bad. Besides, we're going to the party together, aren't we?"

I realized only then that Blossom had mentioned that we were going to the party together. If it was in her house, she wouldn't have had to go with me, right? She could have just met me there. My lacking observance wasn't exactly me. I needed to get ahold of myself.

Since we were going together and I had nothing better to do in life anyway, I agreed to go with Blossom to her apartment. Her place wasn't too far from her family's home. She did seem to be living in a rather sophisticated apartment complex that looked even more expensive than the one my brothers and I were living in. The corridors were well-decorated. The doors were well-polished. Even the elevator was speckless. Once I entered Blossom's apartment, it felt like I had just stepped into the home of a billionaire from movies.

"The scholarship I got paid for everything. I'm not rich enough to afford such a place," Blossom said as I looked around the place in complete awe. I walked over to the full-length glass windows and looked out. Blossom's apartment overlooked the entire city, including the outskirts. It was almost a fitting location for her superhero status.

"This place is awesome. No kidding," I said, breathing out in complete amazement. "Holy fuck."

"It's only rented, up till I graduate," Blossom explained. "Wanna look around?"

I realized I was only still in the living room. I followed Blossom as she led me to the study room, kitchen and bathroom, all of which made me feel like I was in a hotel far too expensive for me to ever afford. To think that she actually lived there every single day made me somewhat envious of her. The place was amazing.

"The bedroom's that way," she said, leading me across the living room and into the bedroom. The bedroom was darker than most of the apartment, mainly because her curtains were closed. Blossom turned up the light a little and the dim atmosphere made the entire place seem cosy and almost sensual. It didn't help that in the dark, the pink bedsheets and covers seemed to appear a deep shade of red. Her bedroom was much too intimate and I could feel myself start to fidget from the awkwardness I felt.

"This is… a really nice place," I said, turning to her.

"It is, isn't it?" Blossom said. I could see a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. Blossom turned away from me, her eyes roaming around the room. "What do you think of my bedroom?"

"It's really… dark…" I admitted.

"Really? I think yours is darker," she replied, stepping closer to me. "I don't really like dark bedrooms, especially when I'm alone. It really amplifies the loneliness. But when I open the curtains here, it feels too open and almost intruding."

"Living here must be really lonely, huh?" I murmured. "It's such a big space and it's all for you."

"Yeah… I tried to get my sisters to move in here but we didn't want to leave the Professor alone. It's kinda impossible to bring him along here since his lab is in the basement of the house," Blossom explained. "Occasionally, Buttercup or Bubbles spend the night here and we have a real good time. I feel like I don't see them enough these days."

"Do you miss them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do… We've been together since we were born. It's hard to live apart," she said.

I wonder how I would feel if I had to live apart from my brothers. Living with them in the same place probably already made us ignorant of one another's presence. If one of us were to suddenly disappear, how would the other two feel? If I left, would Boomer and Butch miss me and would I miss them? Maybe one day, we should try it out.

"Well, anyway, I have to work on some stuff so you try to find something to do to kill time, okay?" she suggested.

"I guess, I'll just watch tv or something," I said, walking out of the bedroom with her. I sighed, thankful to be out of that suggestive bedroom. Being in her room, especially with that atmosphere, made me recall Butch's words in the morning as well as the images my mind had conjured up as a response to that, only this time, I was picturing it in her bedroom.

 _No good no good._

 **No good indeed, Brick. You're supposed to be killing her, not lusting after her. This is your last chance. Do it.**

I ignored HIM's words, knowing damn well that he was going to get back at me eventually for it. There was going to be more nightmares of pain, blood and death and even though my ticket out was standing right in front of me, I couldn't lift my arm to reach out to it. Staring at Blossom, all I could think of was her gentle touches and soothing words. All I could bring out was a sense of yearning and desperation, all for the brief feeling of security I felt when I was with her. How was I going to hate and curse someone like that?

I threw myself on the couch and turned on the television. There wasn't anything much and I ended up channel surfing till I decided to watch the news. There was more stuff on wars and terrorism and I watched as people argued over different issues and decisions taken by many. But as the focus started to shift away from those things and towards more environmental debates, I found my eyelids getting heavy. I didn't want to sleep. I definitely didn't want HIM in my dreams again. But as I started nodding off, I decided that I might as well just lie down and rest my eyes. Kicking off my shoes, I brough my feet up onto the couch and lay down, still facing the television screen.

I was so sleepy.

 _Maybe I'll just rest my eyes for awhile._

And so, I decided to close my eyes and rest, trying my best to still remain awake.

* * *

 **This is a relatively light chapter as compared to the rest and I think the next two will follow this tone. The calm before the storm, yknow. ;) Well, honestly speaking, this story turned out longer than I intended it to and honestly, it's going an entirely different route from what I had planned from the start. I'm still kinda debating between which route I should go. I might write both. I'd probably upload the other one onto ao3 since chapter 1 is already up there as a oneshot so far. Hehe.**

 **Anyway, thank you everyone for all your support for this story. I know I should be completing the other one but really, this story is honestly my favourite out of all that I have wrote. Please do leave more reviews and follow and favourite as well!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Brick. Brick, wake up!"

I slowly opened my eyes to see Blossom looking down at me.

"Hey, it's almost time to go," she said.

"What time is it?" I asked, getting up slowly and stretching my stiff body.

"It's already 7," she replied. "You should get ready."

I looked over at her and I realized that Blossom had already changed into her dress. Her hair seemed to be a little wet though, hanging in clumps at the side of her face. She probably just got out of the shower. I took my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the time. Blossom was right. It was already seven. Wasn't it around one when I closed my eyes? Had I actually fallen asleep? I hadn't had any dreams from HIM or anything so that was really strange.

"Hey, are you up already?" Blossom asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I am… I didn't expect to fall asleep… I'm… erm… sorry for falling asleep on the couch," I said, looking away.

"It's alright. Boomer called you just now, by the way, and since you seemed to be so deep in sleep, I picked it up for you. He mentioned that you haven't been sleeping well at night," Blossom said.

"Yeah, well, I've been having really weird dreams. I rather not talk about that. What did Boomer want?"

"He wanted to ask if you were coming back for lunch. I told him you weren't."

"Oh, alright. Thanks," I said. "Do you mind if I borrow the washroom to freshen up a little?"

"Sure, no problem," she replied, turning to walk back to her room.

I headed to the washroom to quickly wash my face, fully waking up from my sleep. Looking into the mirror, I certainly did look much better than I did in the morning. At the very least, I looked less exhausted and more awake. It came with no surprise though, since I did manage to get a fruitful six-hour sleep with no HIM and no dreams. After drying my face on the small towel that was hanging by the side of the mirror, I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, trying to tame the unruly strands. I couldn't really get my hair exactly to the way it was at the start of the day but the slight mess didn't seem to look too bad. In fact, it looked a little like what it used to be back in the past (not that anyone else would know since I always wore my cap). When I walked out, Blossom wasn't in the living room so I decided to check her bedroom. I did find her there, seated in front of her dressing table, putting on make-up. Her hair seemed to have dried mostly (probably due to the hairdryer that was rested at the side of the table) and she had pulled it into a high ponytail that was being held by her usual ribbon.

"All freshen up now?" she asked, looking at me through the mirror as she put on some mascara.

"Yeah," I replied. "I really didn't expect to fall asleep."

"I guess there probably wasn't anything interesting on the tv," Blossom said. "I switched it off when I saw you fast asleep."

"Yeah, sorry about that as well."

"It's alright," Blossom replied, getting up from her seat. "Come on. Let's go."

I followed Blossom out. We could have flown there but since it was a nice night, we decided to walk to the girls' house instead. Besides, it wasn't that far away. When we arrived, the party had already started and there were people walking in and out of the houses, talking, laughing, eating, drinking and simply having a good time. I stopped a distance away and Blossom did as well, looking at me in confusion.

"Are you having second thoughts about this?" she asked.

"It feels strange. I normally don't go for these kind of things," I replied. "Besides, I don't even have any friends."

"Don't worry about it. Just stick with me," Blossom said, taking my hand and pulling me towards the house. I returned her grip, letting her lead me into the house. Inside, there was a big crowd, with people dancing, screaming and hanging about. If we weren't holding hands, we probably would have lost each other in the crowd.

"Now what?" I asked her, trying to maneuver my way through the noisy crowd.

"Just have fun," Blossom replied. She pulled me to the kitchen, where there seemed to be relatively lesser people around. Even though it was a party for my schoolmates, I couldn't see anyone I recognized. Was I really that anti-social?

That was, until I saw Boomer and Butch talking to Bubbles and Buttercup at the other end of the kitchen. Blossom seemed to have spotted them as well and she started pulling me towards them. I realized that we were still holding hands and that if our siblings saw us, they probably would get the wrong idea. But Blossom's grip on my hand was so tight that I couldn't simply release her. Plus, I didn't quite want to hurt her feelings.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Blossom greeted, stopping by their side. Our siblings turned to us and I smiled at them slightly, more in greeting than anything else.

"Well, it's kinda fun… Cool party you got here, girls," Butch replied. He glanced at Blossom and I and grinned. "Are the two of you having fun?"

"Not really," I admitted. "It's crowded and noisy and there are people everywhere."

"I bet you'd rather be at home with a book or something," Butch scoffed playfully.

 _Yes, I would, actually._

"We just arrived. Brick just needs to get used to it," Blossom chuckled. "Right, Brick?"

 _Wrong._

Butch took me by my other arm and pulled me towards him with a sudden force that made Blossom and I accidentally let go of each other. "Mind if we borrow our brother for awhile, Bloss?" Butch asked.

Blossom looked at me and then to him. "Of course not. Go ahead and play nice with your brothers, Brick." She laughed as she watched my brothers dragged me away, waving at us with the very hand that was just holding me. What happened to sticking together? Why was she leaving me with my brothers? They were going to make me talk to other people.

Or so I thought.

Butch pulled me upstairs, where there were much fewer people, and Boomer followed behind. Alone in the corridor, he pushed me against the wall and smirked at me, placing his hand on my shoulder. Boomer stood beside him with the exact same expression. Seriously, though, aside from their hair and eye colours, the two of them looked like carbon copies of each other.

"So, are the two of you a thing yet?" Butch asked.

"Who?" I asked, though my mind was screaming her name at me.

"Blossom, of course. The two of you were practically holding hands so tightly," Boomer said, leaning forward. "How far have you gone?"

"We're not a thing," I insisted.

"Really?" Butch questioned sardonically. "The two of you basically hung out the entire day today. Besides, have you seen the way the two of you look at each other? What's that about? Why are you looking at her as if she's the light of your life or something?"

 _Maybe because she is…_

I mentally slapped myself for that thought. What bull. "Look, she saved my life. That's it," I said.

"Did you thank her for it? Maybe like, touching her in certain places, kissing her, pushing her onto the bed, tearing her clothes off—"

"Alright, Butch, we get it," Boomer cut in with a slight frown. He turned to me and smiled again. "Come on, did you do anything with her at all? You seem so suspicious. It's like your eyes are hiding something."

Of course it had to be my eyes.

Butch brightened. "It's true, isn't it? The two of you have done something! God, you're transparent!" he laughed.

"What are you talking about?" I hissed. Yet, I felt my cheeks heat up and I turned away from their eyes. "Blossom and I are… just friends."

"With benefits?" Boomer suggested cheekily, his eyes wide and glinting with a mixture of admiration and mischief.

"Look, we just kissed!" I snapped, accidentally blurting it out. My brothers' grins widened and they exchanged victorious looks. I felt a sudden compulsion to explain. "Look, it's like you said. I was grateful that she saved my life. We were talking and we got a little close…"

"Was it like a peck or did the two of you go a little further?" Butch asked.

Why were they being so inquisitive and intrusive all of a sudden? I remembered how we were pushing our bodies against each other, how we were touching each other and how we, more of I actually, was silently begging in my mind and heart for more. That definitely wasn't a mere peck on the cheeks like back when we were younger.

My silence seemed to answer his question. "No way!" Butch gasped. "The two of you made out, didn't you?"

The two of them were laughing and I think I reddened even more. My face was probably the same shade as my hair, or shirt, or eyes— I don't know exactly, everything about me was red— and this only seemed to amuse them even more. But somehow, I knew that this laughter wasn't the same as those mocking laughs of Butch's from a week or two ago. They seemed happy for me.

"Alright, alright," I sighed. "We made out. But that's it. Nothing else."

"Yet," Butch added. "Bro, you're gonna end up doing it one day."

"Look, I'm not interested in her in that way."

"So you are interested in her!" Boomer gasped, making me look back on my words. Again in my mind, I slapped myself for the stupid comment.

"Well, I would be lying if I said that there is nothing," I admitted.

"Do you love her?" Boomer asked.

"What? No!" I snapped. "It's… I don't know how to explain this but she makes me feel different."

Oh god, it was so embarrassing. My face felt like it was on fire and I wanted to cover my face with my hands as I pressed myself against the wall, almost hoping that the wall would swallow me up. Butch took my arm again and pulled me off the wall. He grabbed me by my shoulders and from behind, pushed me down the stairs.

"Go ask her to dance with you or something," Butch suggested, leading me into the kitchen, where Blossom and her sisters seemed to be talking. I couldn't hear what they were saying and the thought of invading their privacy made me refrain from using my hearing abilities. As Butch pushed me to them, they took a step back and grinned at me.

"Oh look, Romeo's here," Buttercup teased, her eyes fixed on me.

"Romeo?" I muttered.

"Yeah, Shakespeare's Romeo. Romantic, isn't it?" Bubbles sighed, clasping her hands together.

"Not really," I sighed. "Romeo was a hopeless romantic whose rash actions led him to his death. Nothing nice about it actually."

Definitely nothing good with being compared to him, that's for sure.

Blossom raised her eyebrows. "Wow Brick. I never expected you to know Shakespeare," she chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I do read," I sighed. "Though I'm not a big fan."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Butch said. "Come on, girls, let's go over there. I've got something to show you."

He had nothing to show them and everyone around knew that. Still, Buttercup and Bubbles followed him, with Buttercup turning back at Blossom and I with a wink. I couldn't really tell who the wink was for. Maybe it was for the both of us.

"What did your brothers talk to you about?" Blossom asked.

"Us," I replied. "Your sisters?"

"Us," Blossom replied as well. "I don't actually believe that they're wrong."

"So you think there's something between us as well," I stated plainly.

Blossom turned to me. "Isn't there?" she asked. Her hands came to rest on my chest and she pushed me backwards till I was leaning against the counter. Blossom came nearer, looking up to meet my eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Butch said I should ask you to dance," I said.

"The girls told me that as well," Blossom replied.

"Then we should..."

"Yeah, let's dance," she said, pulling me by my hand outside, where many people were pushing themselves against one another and probably even making out in the open.

"Are you sure your father's alright with this kind of things?" I asked.

"He's out for some convention in New York," Blossom replied. "He probably wouldn't really like this though."

"So you girls are going against his wishes," I said teasingly.

"Maybe we are," she said turning to look at me, her arms wrapping around my neck. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing to do with that."

Blossom pulled me closer. "Then?"

"I've never danced before so I don't exactly know what to do," I admitted.

"It's simple. Just move your hips a little," she said, starting to sway hers to the music.

"I'm not doing that," I snapped.

"Embarrassed?"

"Yeah, no shit," I muttered.

"I can see that. Your cheeks are turning red," she replied.

I bet they reddened even more at her comment. Blossom was grinning at me playfully and I could roughly figure out what was going on in that mind of hers. She probably was laughing silently at how awkward and embarrassed I was.

But thankfully, before I could embarrass myself even further, I heard the music fade off and I pulled away from her, just like everyone who broke apart from their partners. Buttercup entered the living room, carrying a bunch of boxes.

Oh, pizza.

"Hey guys, dinner's here!" she said. Buttercup walked over to the table at the corner and laid out the boxes.

"We should eat," Blossom said to me. "I'm really hungry."

I realized that I was somewhat hungry as well but not as much as I expected myself to be since I hadn't eaten anything but my peanut butter sandwich in the morning. Maybe Blossom was right. I needed to start eating more if I wanted to gain back my lost weight.

I took a piece of pepperoni pizza and started eating it, still staying by Blossom's side. I could see people staring at us and I could hear them whispering, probably about us. I looked at Blossom, knowing that she too would have realized it. Blossom didn't seem bothered about it but she grabbed my hand and started pulling me into the kitchen again.

"You're so awkward that it's starting to piss me off," she complained. "Can't you do anything without worrying about what others think of you?"

"I… I'm sorry. I just didn't like being stared at by everyone," I complained, biting into my pizza and turning away as I chewed on it.

"People are going to stare at you no matter what you do. It happens to us as well," Blossom replied.

"Yeah, but it's different. They look at you in awe and at me in disdain."

"Well, I guess it's true," she sighed. We fell silent for a while, merely eating the pizza as we both leaned against the cabinet. After a while, Blossom let out a sigh. "I don't think you're actually having much fun here."

"Yeah, not really," I admitted. "This kind of thing… isn't something I enjoy I guess."

"Sorry for dragging you out here. I'm not one for parties either but since my sisters invited me, I couldn't say no," she said looking down, her sudden softness taking me aback and almost making me guilty for being honest with her.

"Hey, but it's an experience!" I said quickly. "Besides, it doesn't matter as long as you're here with me."

I think I reddened the moment I said that, especially at the realization of how cheesy I sounded. Blossom turned to me, blushing, as her eyes widened.

"What? Really?" she asked, her voice almost a squeak.

"I-I mean… I had fun just now so… erm… it's okay…." My stuttering wasn't helping the situation either and my face burned even more. If I ever had a limit of how many times I could blush in a day, I probably broke it in that few minutes. Blossom's blush deepened as well and she looked down on the ground as well, fiddling with her fingers.

"Erm… Brick… Do you want to leave now?" she asked.

"But the party's still on," I replied.

"It doesn't matter. I actually have something to do tomorrow morning so I can't stay up too late anyway. I did plan on leaving early," Blossom said. "Not this early, but I can if you want to."

"Well, I'm not exactly against it."

"Do you want to… drop by my house or something?" she asked. "We could hang out a little longer, just us."

I shrugged, trying to play it off nonchalantly but I was sure Blossom could sense my uneasiness. I wonder what would happen if we went back together. Given the already tensed and awkward conversation we just had, I suddenly found it difficult to calm myself down beside her. And as I stared at her, I started noticing various features of her, just like how her earrings had little ribbons on them, her hair was tied up with a shinier ribbon and her dress matched the exact shade as her eyes. In fact, her lipstick seemed to be the same shade of pink as well. It was a nice pink, soft, soothing and warm, unlike my red that was blazing and destructive. I found myself wanting to pull her in, closer to me. I found myself wanting more.

Butch's suggestions were ringing in my mind, accompanied by images of us, all situated in her dark and intimate bedroom.

 _Oh fuck_ … _I need to control myself._

It took me a moment to realize that Blossom was staring at me as well, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't quite identify. She took a step closer to me and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Do you want to come over to my house?" she asked softly. "I don't mind if you stay the night."

"Where will I be sleeping? The couch's pretty comfortable," I suggested playfully, my words formed more by the part of me that was being controlled by Butch's words from earlier on as well as the lewd images in my mind rather than rationality. I was pretty sure the Blossom could tell that I really meant something else when I mentioned her couch.

"My bed is big enough for the both of us," she said, pulling me closer.

Our lips met for a moment, in a deep heated kiss, before she pulled away slightly. I pushed myself against her, dragging my lips from her lips to her chin and down to her neck. Blossom titled her head, her hand running through my hair as my mouth traced the length of her neck.

"Why do you even have such a big bed, huh?" I asked cheekily against her skin. I pushed her backwards till she was partially leaning against the kitchen counter. Our hips were pressed against each other and I could feel a strange sensation from deep in my stomach.

 _It might actually happen..._

"So I have space for naughty boys like you, I guess," Blossom replied, laughing breathlessly. I didn't know if she was joking or if she was being serious. I raised my head to meet her eyes and she grinned, reaching to pull my head down till my ear was at her mouth. "Shouldn't we be doing this somewhere else?"

She released her hold on me and I looked around. Since everyone was eating, no one was in the kitchen but us. But that did not mean that no one would step in. I moved off her and Blossom stood up straight, straightening out her dress. The two of us stared at each other, suddenly falling into awkward silence after the rather intimate interaction. Blossom ran her fingers through her bangs and cleared her throat.

"We fall silent a lot, don't we?" she laughed.

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, I guess we do—"

"What are the two of you doing here?"

Both of us turned to the entrance of the kitchen and saw Bubbles peeking her head in. I was immediately glad that we had broken apart. I certainly didn't want to be caught making out with her against their kitchen counter. Blossom's sisters would probably freak out.

"We're going to leave soon," Blossom said.

"What? That's fast!" Bubbles whined, pouting at the two of us.

"Erm… I've got something to do," Blossom said, "and Brick's going to help me with it."

 _Oh, am I?_

I was pretty sure I could help her out in many ways, though I had to admit that I lacked experience. With my mind descending into such thoughts, I had to force myself to hold in my smirk and snicker and flashed Bubbles with an apologetic smile. "Yeah, and parties aren't my thing either so I'll be leaving with Blossom."

I could feel my stomach churning in what I believe was excitement. Our small exchange against the kitchen counter was all it took to change the entire dynamic of our relationship. I felt the urge for something more and from the way Blossom was pulling me close just now, I knew she was too.

"Oh, well, I hope we can see you guys soon!" Bubbles said. "We don't really see you much, Blossom."

Blossom smiled and she walked over to Bubbles, pulling her sister into a long hug. "It's summer now. You guys can come over whenever you want."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bubbles said. "You should tell Buttercup you're leaving as well. She's in the living room."

At Bubbles' advice, Blossom decided to look for Buttercup and I followed behind her. We managed to find Buttercup in the living room, where she and a few of her friends were crowding around the television as the played an unfamiliar looking video game. My brothers were there as well, standing behind the couch and cheering their friends on. I walked over to join them as Blossom went to talk to Buttercup.

"Hey, Brick, did you manage to ask Blossom to dance?" Butch asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I think I did… but I was so bad at it that I just wanted to die," I groaned.

"I told you he wasn't the kind to dance, Butch," Boomer sighed.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, crossing my arms. "Anyway, I'm leaving now."

"Already?" both of them gasped simultaneously.

"Yeah. I'll be dropping by Blossom's place for a while though." At my words, both of them burst into wide smirks and threw their arms around my shoulder, leaning forward with me in the middle.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Butch whispered.

"No!" I insisted. _Or maybe yes… Erm…_ I glanced at Blossom but she still seemed to be talking to Buttercup.

"I bet you are!" Boomer chuckled.

"Good job, bro!" Butch cheered.

"Look, it's nothing like that!" I insisted. _It is going to be like that, hopefully._

"Always remember, we're rooting for you!" Butch said, sticking his thumb out in a thumbs-up gesture. Sure, he sounded believable but I did find myself doubting his words a little. He might have been rooting for me and Blossom but just a week or two ago, we were complete enemies. Honestly, the easygoing interactions I had with them were fun and they made me smile but somehow, there seemed, to me, that there was an element of pretense. Maybe it would fade off in a while. Maybe I was just thinking too much into it. Or maybe, they were just trying to accommodate their guilt for pushing me to the point where I almost committed suicide (though, as I had stated, suicide wasn't my intention when I ate the pills).

When Blossom and Buttercup were done, I waved farewell to my brothers. Blossom took my hand and started pulling me out of the house. Even though we had been holding hands for a while, this time, it felt entirely different. I found myself being aware of the smoothness of her skin and the warmth of her hand around mine. Our fingers were intertwined almost perfectly, complimenting one another. Blossom was leading the way as we walked back, pulling me along, and I couldn't see her expression at all. All I could look at was the back of her head, her body and the hand that had mine in a tight clasp— the same hand that had been wandering my body a moment ago at the kitchen counter.

When we finally reached her apartment complex, it felt like it had been too long. I wondered why we didn't fly but I mentioned nothing about it to her. The journey back was silent. But I had busied myself with studying her. I think I had her body shape memorized by the time we entered the elevator.

The elevator door closed and my eyes moved up to watch the numbers change as we rose. Blossom's apartment was on the fortieth floor yet after a long time of waiting, we hadn't even reached tenth. I glanced at Blossom from the corner of my eye. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was harder and tenser than usual. I found myself watching her lip and as she bit her bottom lip, her white teeth sinking into the soft pink flesh, I decided I couldn't wait anymore.

I pushed Blossom against the wall of the elevator and meshed our lips together. Blossom welcomed the kiss, her arms wrapping around my neck to pull me down, pressing me against her harder. I felt her legs start to wrap around my waist and she hoisted herself up till our faces were leveled. With her back pressed flat against the wall of the elevator, I pushed my body against hers, our lips and tongues still pressed against each other. I could feel Blossom's hips move against mine and I groaned against her lips.

I really couldn't wait much longer.

The soft ding of the elevator brought both of us to reality as the doors opened. Blossom tried to slide off me but before she could, I slid an arm around her and lifted her up, carrying her as I started to walk towards her apartment. I heard her giggle softly as she clung onto me. Once we arrived, Blossom took the keys out of the purse she had slung around her and unlocked the door, with me mentally urging her to hurry up. Once inside, she dropped the keys and purse on the ground as I kicked the door close.

Blossom slid off my arms and turned to me. She grabbed me by my shirt collar and started kissing me again, shortly before she started toying with my buttons and popping them open. As Blossom unbuttoned my shirt, I reached behind her, undoing the ribbon around her waist and unzipping her dress. I pressed my hand against her bare back as I pulled her closer to me.

Blossom broke apart, though our lips were still just a centimeter apart. "The bedroom's that way, Brickie," she whispered.

I didn't need to be told more as I immediately lifted her up in my arms and walked over to the bedroom. Her room was darker than it was earlier on, especially since the lights were turned off, but I didn't pay much heed to the darkness. I dropped Blossom on the bed. After kicking off my shoes and socks— Blossom did so meanwhile as well— I climbed over her and started kissing her again. Blossom's hands travelled around my body, pushing my shirt off me as I started pulling her dress off her. Once her dress was removed, I moved my lips downwards, kissing more and more of her soft, creamy skin. Her body was perfect in every way. She had just the right amount of flesh and muscles. Merely in her undergarments, she looked much curvier and sexier than she did in her flowy pink dress. Pushing myself up to stare at her, all I could think of was how beautiful she was and how my body was much inferior to hers.

Why didn't I exercise and eat properly?

My body was not only skinny and pale, it was also blemished with the scars I used to be proud of. I couldn't understand how I suddenly felt uglier. Didn't I stand in front of the mirror, admiring my wounded and bloodied self on the day I did it?

 **Don't you want to be like that again, Brick?**

Couldn't HIM have picked a worse timing? I tried my best to ignore HIM's voice, focusing on Blossom's soft moans and whimpers instead. Even then, I could sense his annoyance and anger from my actions— or rather, my lack of actions.

 **Haven't you realized all the opportune moments you had to kill her?**

 _I did._

Oh, fuck, I made the mistake of responding to him.

 **Why haven't you done it yet? Do you really think she cares about who you are? She doesn't care about you, Brick. It's just pity.**

But it didn't seem like pity from the way she pulled me close to her, from the way she takes her fingers down my back and from the way she calls out for me, begging and pleading for more and asking me not to stop. HIM probably couldn't see it. He probably couldn't understand it. There was something between us. I knew there was.

 **Something between you… Do you think that she's in love with you?**

Love? I never even thought about it.

 **Don't bother. You're deluding yourself.**

Blossom pushing me down onto the bed and climbing over me, inverting our positions, brought me back to the situation at hand. Now above me, Blossom reached down to my jeans, fiddling with my belt buckle.

"Have you done this before?" she asked as she undid the buckle.

"No," I replied. _Who would I even do it with?_

"Me neither," she sighed. The button of my jeans popped open. "Well, this might turn out bad…"

"I'm not ignorant about this!" I said immediately, before turning red. "I mean… I've watched porn before so I guess I know what feels good…"

Blossom laughed at this, her palm pressing against my weakest and most sensitive area. Even though it was still clothed, I felt my hips jerk in response.

"I've read a lot as well so I know what to do as well," Blossom added, pulling down my zipper, one tooth at a time, with a speed that was much too slow and torturous.

Slowly, one by one, our clothes were removed and by the time both of us were completely bare, I really couldn't wait any longer.

"You're sure you want this, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, come on. Hurry up," she replied.

"Alright… Let's do this."

Nothing had ever felt better. Nothing had ever felt more comforting and secure than to be so close and connected to her. With every movement, I found myself pulling her closer, kissing her and touching her with a gentleness that I never once thought I possessed. The worry I felt for her at the initial stage, when it actually hurt her, seemed so foreign to me. The kisses and gentle words we exchanged felt like betrayal to my past.

But I didn't care anymore.

When we both reached our limits, we screamed each other's names. Exhausted, I collapsed on top of her, breathing hard but with a contentment I had never felt before.

"You're staying the night, right?" she asked.

I rolled over to lie at her side, pulling her closer to me. I pulled the covers over our body and snuggled close to her in response. I could see Blossom smile as she leaned her head against me.

"Good night, Brick."

"Good night."

That night, I had the worst nightmare ever. When I woke up screaming and crying, sweating profusely with my body trembling, I realized that I couldn't even recall a single thing that happened. Yet, something about that nightmare has felt real. Even when I woke up, I could still feel my body hurting and throbbing, though I figured it was mostly psychological. I couldn't remember what had happened to me in the nightmare. I couldn't remember if someone had done something to me or if I had done something to myself. I didn't know if it was immolation or dismemberment like I was used to in most dreams. Maybe it was even something else.

Well, whatever that was it doesn't really matter anymore. Because from the day after, my life was turned into a living nightmare.

* * *

 _I feel so insecure about this chapter. I hope you guys like it lol... Honestly, this story makes me doubt myself before I upload anything and it just raises my self-consciousness by like 100000000000%._

 _Erm... Yeah, this chapter is a little long but I felt that splitting it into two would ruin the whole tone of it. To be honest, I really don't know if that scene was appropriate for a T rating. It should be, right? I'm getting a little paranoid, probably because I had fun writing the intimate scenes and mixing in HIM's interjections, so I don't want to have to change the ratings or remove certain parts of the story. I'm already working on chapter 10 and I like how the change in the story happens at this chapter. It's a really nice number actually._

 _I love the Reds so much I just had to include this. But things won't go so smoothly don't worry. This story is an angsty hellhole and I intend to keep it like that. Just for the sake of it, I'm debating between a tragic end and a happy one. Like I said, I have a lot of possible routes this story could take and for the one I intend to stick to, either outcome is possible. Hehe. Just a heads up._

 _Just so you guys know, I LOVE YOU ALL. Your reviews make me smile and I just love reading them. Thank you for supporting me, even though I'm a weird sadist (lol jk) who loves to torture her favourite characters. Really, I've written stuff that even makes me afraid of myself sometimes. HAHAHA._

 _But sometimes I worry that I might be taking my presentation of Brick a little too far. I mean, it's obvious he has issues and I'm sure he's not just sad. I don't know any official terms for what he's going through but I feel like there's some degree of insanity (alright maybe that's a wrong choice of word). Well, at least, he's not your completely sane and mentally healthy person. Anyway, my point is, I don't know if I'm going too far with this or if it may seem offensive to some people. I don't even know why I decided to go down this route to be honest. I could have taken my alternative one (where Brick finds an outlet for expressing himself through music/writing and everyone starts accepting him and they live happily ever after)— this one for sure has no HIM bugging the hell out of Brick, nor does he have that entirely destructive ability of his (and no one fucking dies HAHA)._

 _I would probably just saw it's all due to the influence and possible inspiration of one of my favourite writers (more of a mangaka, actually). If only I could hit his level (I'm nowhere near him dammit)._

 _Well, a long chapter followed by a long author's note will probably have left you guys exhausted (HAHA I HOPE) and I might be pissing you guys off by writing so much so I'll end this here. Do follow, favourite, leave a review... you know, usual ff a/n stuff and I wish you all a great day (or night)._


	10. Chapter 10

I woke Blossom up from my scream and when I got out of bed, pulling my pants on hastily, I could see her sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes drowsily. I walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen, wanting to wash my face as well as get something to drink. My throat was parched and almost painful. My mind was in a daze. My eyes were hurting from crying in my sleep. I took a glass and walked over to the sink. After splashing water on my face a couple of times, I filled the cup up with water and immediately chugged it down, slamming the cup down on the top of the cabinet. My body was still shaking from the dream. I could still feel the fear I felt in it, as well as remember the pain. But that was all. There was nothing aside from the pain and fear that I could remember.

"Brick, what's wrong?" I heard Blossom ask from behind me.

"Nothing really," I said. "I just had a dream."

"You seem pretty shaken up. What happened?"

I turned to her and realized that she was leaning against the wall. Blossom pushed herself off and walked over to me. She took my hands and looked up to me, obviously waiting for an answer.

"I can't remember," I admitted. "All I know was that I was scared and that something was hurting a lot."

"Something was hurting?"

"The pain was unbearable. It's nothing like the pain from back when I used to be beaten up by you. It's nothing like the pain I felt and enjoyed when I hurt myself. It's something so sickening and revolting that it makes me want to throw up. It pushes me to a point of desperation that I just start clawing at myself to ease the pain but all I do is make it worse. It's something that, no matter how much I scream and cry, I can never convey it," I replied. "It hurts. Every night, in my dreams, I experience this pain. But tonight… it was so much worse."

Blossom remained silent for a moment, her fingers running against my hands. After a long period of time, she sighed and looked down. "I don't even know how to help you."

"It's impossible to help me. I'm beyond saving," I replied, laughing emotionlessly. "I should have done what he told me to, but I couldn't."

"He? Who?"

 _Oh, fuck._ I had spoken without thinking.

"Nothing… Forget I said that," I sighed.

"No. I'm not going to forget. What's going on?" She released my hands and crossed hers over her chest, adopting her usual authoritative stance that I knew better than to disobey.

"HIM… HIM has been contacting me. He wants me to do something for him," I replied.

"What?"

"He wants me to kill you," I said frankly. "He wants me to kill you when you have your guard down."

"And?"

"I can't do that. How can I just kill you?" I cried out. "He's really angry so he's been getting back at me. Actually, this morning, I thought that I should really kill you but when we met, I knew it was impossible."

"You actually thought of killing me?" Her voice was flat and her words were frank. I couldn't tell at all how she was feeling from my revelation.

"I wanted it to end. The pain is so bad that I was willing to do anything to end it."

Blossom's lack of expression broke into a smile. "But you didn't kill me."

"I couldn't. How could I have killed you after everything you've done for me?" I pointed out.

Blossom's eyes softened and she reached over to pull me into a hug. "I can't do anything about your dreams but I want you to know that you're not alone. You can tell me anything at all. I promise you that I won't leave you alone and that I'll always be by your side."

"Blossom…"

"You're not alone anymore, Brick. You aren't."

She pulled back slightly and placed her palm on my cheek. At that moment, I wanted to come clean. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened, including the park and Mitch. But I knew better. HIM was right. Blossom was only treating me well because she thought I was trying to reform. She knew nothing about how I was willing to become evil again at HIM's offer (although that was a spur of the moment kind of thing). She knew nothing about the blood that tainted my hands.

The very hands I held her with.

I mentally shook the thought out of my head and placed my hand over hers, forcing myself to smile at her. Blossom pulled me down for a kiss, her fingers intertwining with mine. I tried to calm my racing heart and mind, trying very much to remain composed and objective. Blossom was great company. I enjoyed being with her, whether in a platonic sense or a romantic sense (or whatever it was we had, which seemed more of an in-between to me). But if I wanted to truly find meaning in our interactions, I had to be honest with her. That was the basis of any relationship. I couldn't be honest about the past but I sure as hell could make sure I was honest about the future. I would do it, for the sake of the comfort I desired but rarely got.

That ability that HIM gave me should never be used ever again.

 _I promise…_

"Thank you, Blossom," I whispered as we broke apart. Blossom smiled at me, her hand dropping to her side, though she didn't move a step away. Pushing HIM and my worries to the back of my mind, I let my eyes trail down Blossom's body. She had pulled on my shirt, with only the middle two buttons buttoned so that it covered barely anything but just nice to hide what was really important on top, but it was long enough that it fell to her mid-thighs. But since the buttons were mostly undone, all I needed to do was part the fabric to get a look.

The strange feeling I had in my stomach the previous day was surfacing again. I held Blossom by the shoulders, pushing her backwards till she was leaning against her kitchen counter. I lifted her by the waist and placed her on the top of the counter. She was so light that it was almost deceiving. To think that such a petite girl could throw one of the most deadliest punches I had ever received in my life made me smile. I pressed lightly on her stomach to push her down till she was lying on the counter before I slid my hand underneath the shirt, pulling the shirt up as my hand travelled upwards along her body.

"You look so good in my shirt," I murmured, kissing her thigh softly. I lightly traced circles around her hips, making her squirm.

"Really?" she asked, her cheeks flushed.

"Yeah," I growled playfully, reaching to unbutton my shirt and part the cotton, "so good that I want it off you now."

"How dirty," Blossom sighed with a smirk. My shirt laid splayed out beneath her. "You really are such a bad boy, Brick."

I looked up at her, returning her smirk. "I was born this way, I'm afraid."

Blossom laughed in response and I leaned over to kiss her on her lips. It wasn't long before we were at it again, just enjoying each other's company and deriving pure satisfaction from the way our bodies rubbed against each other. We pulled and pushed till we reached a high together, almost as if we were truly one being, united by our act. As I lay above her once we were done, Blossom wrapped her arms around me, tightly hugging me as she buried her face in my hair. We stayed still in silence for awhile.

"I'll always be here for you. You know that right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied, feeling myself yawn. I got up on my feet and stretched, realizing how stiff my back muscles were. Blossom was smiling at me and I flashed her a smile back. "What time is it?"

"It's almost six," Blossom replied, sitting up.

So I actually slept pretty long, though it didn't seem like I got much sleep from the sleepiness and fatigue that was clogging my mind.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked. "Go back to sleep?"

"I'm going to take a shower," Blossom replied, sliding down the counter. She turned to me with a grin. "Wanna join me?"

I knew that the invitation wasn't just for showering and that we were going to end up with a round two. I knew that the closer I got to Blossom, the more I was pissing HIM off. I knew that by accepting her, I was digging my own grave even further.

Blossom didn't wait for an answer. She took my hand and started pulling me towards the bathroom.

I should stop getting close to her. The nightmare proved that. But I couldn't let go of her hand. I relished the way she held me. I relished the way she felt against me. I relished the sounds she made when we were together, the way she called my name and made it seem like in that moment, all that mattered to her was me. I wanted to feel that contentment again, not so much from the act, but more from the way she made me feel.

I couldn't stop her. I couldn't stop myself.

About half an hour later, the two of us ended up back in bed, me wearing merely my jeans and Blossom wearing an oversized sweater that she had taken from her closet.

"Well, that was fun," Blossom commented, breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah," I agreed. I yawned again, turning to my side to face her. My eyelids were getting heavy but I didn't quite want to go back to sleep.

"How are you planning to spend the rest of the holidays?" Blossom asked.

"I don't know," I replied.

"How are you planning to spend the rest of your life?"

"I don't know."

"You're in your final year of high school, aren't you? Any plans for college?" Blossom asked.

"Not really."

Blossom made a face and sighed. "You're a bore sometimes, you know."

I yawned again, my eyes starting to itch. "I'm not doing so well in school to get into college," I replied, closing my eyes, more so to ease the itch than because I wanted to.

"If you put in some effort, I'm sure you can pull your grades up and get into Townsville University," she replied.

"Maybe," I murmured.

I can't remember much about that conversation. I knew I fell asleep at some point and Blossom probably did as well. I only remember being woken up when the doorbell rang. I wasn't exactly sleeping. Like I said before, I am a deep sleeper. But since I was awoken from that doorbell, it probably was a really light nap or maybe I wasn't fully asleep yet. Whatever. That isn't exactly important. What's important is what came after the doorbell.

You can probably guess. That was when my life completely came crashing down.

Blossom got out of bed and walked out to open the door. I sat up for a moment, partly annoyed from having been woken up. I got up and pulled my shirt on, buttoning it up and easing the wrinkles. When I walked out, I saw Blossom talking to two men. At that moment, I didn't know who those men were but I found out some time later. The taller one was named Jeff and the shorter one was named Tom. They're not exactly important people but they weren't unimportant as well. I have nothing much to say about them except for the fact that I hate them.

"Look, we're going to have to take him in," Jeff said.

"But why?" Blossom asked, visibly annoyed. "Like I said, Brick hasn't done anything and I doubt an anonymous note is stronger evidence than the video."

"What's going on?" I asked, realizing that they were talking about me.

They ignored me (like, what the fuck, right?). "Blossom," Tom said calmly and flatly, almost like a robot, "the note is not stronger evidence but it contains terrifying news about this boy and we absolutely can't afford to leave him be unless we have proof it's false."

"What news? Look, I'm not letting you just take Brick unless you can give me concrete evidence of why he should be taken in," Blossom snapped. "I know him. He's not the type to kill people, not even when he was a criminal and now you're telling me that he's responsible for not only the death of those boys but the destruction of the park as well?"

 _Huh? Wait, what? How did they…?_

I think I must have reacted because the men glanced at me before exchanging knowing and almost victorious glances. Tom tried to walk over to me but Blossom moved to impede his path. He glared at her, before reaching into his coat and pulling out a slip of paper, passing it to her.

"Here's the note. Read it for yourself," he growled.

Blossom did but it didn't seem to convince her. "This is a pile of nonsense. Brick never had such an ability," Blossom said. "If he did, he would have used it a long time ago on us. We would never had been able to defeat him in the first place."

 _Wait… What?_

"We figured he might have developed it recently," Jeff said.

"We don't just develop powers!" Blossom insisted. "You know nothing about our kind so leave it be."

"Sorry, we can't do that. Our strict orders are to put him in isolation unless we can find a way to prove his innocence," Jeff replied.

"But what if you can't?" Blossom challenged.

"Then he'll be in isolation for the rest of his life," Jeff said, glancing at me. "Besides, that face doesn't look innocent to me. If anything, he looks guilty or even… afraid that he's secret is out."

Blossom turned to me and tilted her head. "This is crap, right? Since when can you destroy something by just staring and willing it to be destroyed?"

 _What the fuck?_

"I… I don't understand," I said, stepping back a little. "What's going on?"

 _Calm down. Calm down. Don't let it show…_

"This note says that you destroyed the park and killed Mitch and his friends. It's not true, right?" she asked.

She seemed so hopefully. She trusted me fully. How could she even trust me so much? There seemed to be not a single trace of doubt in her at all.

"I…"

"Look at him! There's no way he knows nothing," Jeff said. "Give it up, Blossom. We're taking him."

Blossom didn't seem convinced by them. But she did look like she was about to break both of their noses with a punch to their faces. If Blossom stopped them and protected me, would they think of her as an accomplice? Would I drag her along with me into trouble? Oh god, what would happen to her if she unknowingly protected me although I was completely guilty?

 **She would be destroyed. Everything she stands for wouldn't mean anything anymore, would it? Wasn't this what you've always wanted?**

 _No…_

Of course. Of course. Of course it was HIM.

 **So, Brick, what are you going to do now? Destroy your life or destroy hers along with yours?**

I told myself I wouldn't lie to her. I promised myself I would be honest about the future. But if I continued to lie about my past, our relationship will become a lie. If I continued to lie about my past, I would destroy both of us. That was all I could do. That was all I was good at. I could only destroy. Why did I forget?

 _Oh god, Blossom, what have you done to me?_

How could I forget what I truly was?

 **Good. Now, save yourself. You have the power to.**

 _Save myself… Save myself and… what? Go back?_

 **Come back. Come back to us. Leave everything behind. Leave your life, your brothers, her. Everything.**

 _No…_

 **No?**

 _No!_

I wouldn't lie. I promised myself I wouldn't lie to her.

I wouldn't destroy her life.

 _Blossom, the short time you have given me… was the best moment of my life._

"It's true." My voice was much softer that I had intended to. I could feel my hands shaking. I was scared, so scared.

"What?" Blossom asked, her voice widening.

"It's true… I do have that ability. I got it recently, from HIM," I said.

"When you said he wanted you to kill me…"

"Yeah. That's it," I murmured. I slid my hands into my pockets, mainly because I couldn't stop my fingers from rubbing against one another.

"So the park… and Mitch?"

"It was an accident," I whispered. "I'm sorry…"

I looked up at Blossom and I saw her eyes wider than before. I had never seen that look on her before, not even back in the past when I used to hurt her at every single meeting. She looked hurt, betrayed and confused.

 _Oh god, what have I done?_

"You… It was you all along and you just remained silent? The reason everyone died in that park? The reason Dylan lost his family… Oh my god, you lied to that poor kid after destroying his life!" Blossom yelled, clasping her hands over her mouth. "Brick… you…"

"It was an accident, Blossom, really," I insisted. "I didn't know… I…"

"Shut up!" she screamed, making me jump slightly. "You're disgusting. You're a monster! How dare you? You should just die!"

"Blossom, wait, listen to me!"

"What?" she asked, glaring at me in exasperation.

"I swear, it was an accident. I didn't mean to…"

"Okay. You didn't mean to," she said, sighing. "Go ahead and tell Dylan that you didn't mean to kill his family. Go on. I'm sure he'll understand." Her voice was laced with so much cynicism that I grimaced. She was right. No matter how much I try to justify myself, the fact that I had killed people didn't change.

I walked towards her but I felt Jeff grab my arm and before I could react, Tom slammed a needle into the side of my neck. The effects were practically immediate. I could feel myself go weak and my eyes go blurry. I was still looking at Blossom and she was still staring at me. I no longer could see the Blossom I knew. All I could see in her eyes were the hurt I caused her.

 _Oh god, no… This isn't happening. Stop. I don't want this._

 **This is perfect.**

 _No… No…_

"How dare you?" Blossom shouted. "How could you pretend to be so hopeless and lost? How can you cheat me that way? I thought you really needed my help. I thought… you really wanted to change but everything was against you. I trusted you. I believed you. I wanted to help you, to protect you even. I've done so much for you. I've given everything to you. Everything you've done and said… everything… last night… was everything a lie?"

"No, you don't understand," I murmured. I was starting to lose consciousness and a sense of my thoughts. Everything was going blank. My eyes were closing against my wishes and my knees were going weak. "Blossom, please."

"I'm sorry for interfering. Just take him away," Blossom said.

I was being dragged away. _No, Blossom… Wait. Don't leave me… You promised…_

Blossom wasn't coming. I was alone again. I was alone in a darkness that probably was never going to end.

* * *

 _Following this chapter, basically ch 11 onwards, I'm going to change it to a multi-perspective kind of thing. Merely sticking to Brick's POV wouldn't help the plot move forward much because there will be nothing much going on during his isolation (at least nothing much he's aware of) so I'm going to go with a two-part approach to the chapters. I'm trying to finish this story by asap because I'm free now so I want this done before I start getting busy with work and eventually, school. And I still have the final two chapters for my other story. Ugh. Ahahaha._

 _I feel so happy reading your reviews everyone. It really makes my day! I'm not going to say much today since I said a bunch of stuff in the previous chapter and there's nothing much to say so I'm just going to leave this here. Please do leave a review and follow and favourite this story as well. Your support just keeps me going!_

 _(About 2 months left to the reboot! I can't wait! XD)_


	11. Chapter 11: Part 2

_**Okay, so guys, I'm going with a change of format with this chapter onwards. The first half will be from Blossom's POV and the second half, Brick's POV.**_

* * *

One week had passed since the incident with Brick and none of us actually heard much about it. Since he did confess to the crimes, he was arrested immediately. I didn't bother visiting him or finding out much about his sentence. If I went to visit, it might end up making things worse. I didn't want to be fed with more lies. I didn't want to sympathize with him again. To think that I actually felt something for him during that short time we spent together. He had looked so vulnerable that I felt sorry for him and wanted to help him, though things went a little further than just helping.

I couldn't believe it at all. I couldn't believe how I just easily believed him, trusted him and laid everything out for him. But even when I should be angry and upset, my mind found itself in a huge daze of confusion.

Were his scars real? Were his tears real? Were his cries for help real? Were the words he spoke when he held me real? Were his nightmares real? When he woke up all of a sudden that night, rushing to the kitchen practically trembling and on the verge of breaking down, was he merely acting? When he told me that HIM wanted him to kill me but he couldn't, was that a lie? When he said that he hated himself and his eyes, was he trying to merely deceive me?

Would anyone go as far as to stab his own eye just to appear pitiful to win someone's sympathy? Why did he even need my sympathy if he could just destroy the entire town just by looking at it? Why didn't he just kill me? Why didn't he just kill us and escape that day? Why did he allow himself to be taken?

I couldn't understand anything. I couldn't understand anything at all. With a groan, I threw myself down on my bed, screaming into my pillow. I couldn't understand anything. It surely was much simpler to just blame Brick and label him as the bad guy. But at the same time, it felt so hard for me to connect his face to those crimes. The Brick in recent days didn't seem like someone who would hurt anyone but himself. He harbored so much anger and hatred in him but he didn't seem to be the kind to hurt anyone else. Wasn't that why he hurt himself in the first place?

A knock on my room door sounded and I got up, walking over to answer it. After what happened with Brick, my apartment didn't exactly appeal much to me. I wanted to stay away from the place where I had spent so much time with him in a way that was much too intimate and close— something I shouldn't have done with someone like him. My apartment was where we both made a mistake— me for giving everything up and him for deceiving me. There was no use staying there any longer while I was in a state of confusion. My mind would waver from the happy memories— him kissing me, holding me, whispering sweet words to me— to the bad memories— his lies, his betrayal, his crimes. It was the summer vacation anyway. I decided to move back home for a while.

When I opened my room door, Buttercup and Bubbles were standing there.

"We're going to check on the boys. Wanna come?" Buttercup asked.

Especially since the incident with Brick, they told up to keep a stricter eye on Boomer and Butch. Our apartment trips got more frequent. We had to check on them every week instead of a month. Butch and Boomer weren't happy but they didn't argue much. They probably were as conflicted over Brick as I was.

Of course, my sisters didn't know much about Brick and I. They did tease us and they did mention that we looked good together but I didn't tell them about how far we went. As far as they knew, we were just friends.

I wondered how much Brick told his brothers. But then, kissing and making out aside, we only did something on the night before he was taken.

"Sure, I'll come along," I replied. "I have nothing to do anyway."

Sometimes, I find it ironic that I'm such a great liar and actor. People could ask me if I was okay on the worst day of my life and I would still be able to convince them that I was perfectly fine without much effort. My sisters couldn't tell that something was bothering me. They couldn't tell that I was constantly debating over Brick's actions and that I was just hurt by the fact he never told me anything. When I entered home the day after his arrest, they hugged me and welcomed me. Brick was mentioned only once and that too, they talked over how they figured something would happen eventually. Apparently, Brick was unlike his brothers. They thought he, as the leader, was truly evil.

Was he?

I followed my sisters to the boys' place and we knocked on the door. The two of them were open. With our hearing, we could hear them argue over who should open the door, with Boomer eventually relenting. After a long time, the door finally opened.

"Took you guys a long time," Buttercup groaned.

"I was really busy but _someone_ refused to open the door because he wants to sleep," Boomer replied, saying "someone" a lot louder so Butch could hear it.

We entered the apartment and Butch popped his head out of his room. "Hey girls, what can we do for you on this fine, beautiful day?" Butch asked, walking out and leaning against the door.

"How about putting on some more clothes at least?" Buttercup asked, wrinkling her nose at Butch's bare torso. Well, she said that, but her eyes were fixed on his body and it was obvious that she didn't mind him standing there like that. It wasn't exactly her fault. Among the three of them, I had to agree that Butch had the best build. Not that Boomer and Brick weren't attractive. I didn't know about Boomer but I was sure that Brick's body wasn't exactly the best aspect of him physically.

"He just got out of bed. Leave him be," Boomer sighed.

"Anyway, what are you busy with?" Bubbles asked.

Boomer grinned and nodded to the corner of the living room, where he had newspapers laid out on the floor. There was a canvas, brushes and a bunch of paint bottles scattered around. We moved over to look down at Boomer's painting. It was a rather sensual and intimate drawing of a girl sitting among some flowers. The girl had flowy blonde hair that was pulled into pigtails and she wore a light blue dress. In her hands, she held a blue flower which she held closer to her nose.

"That looks a lot like Bubbles," Buttercup commented, eyeing Boomer suspiciously as she voiced my very thoughts.

"D-Does it?" Boomer gasped, turning a little red. "I wasn't thinking of anyone! I just had this in my head and… and…"

"I think it's beautiful and if it's really me, I'm honored!" Bubbles replied with a giggle, making Boomer blush even deeper.

Well, if Butch's charm was his body then I guess that childish side of him probably was Boomer's charm. I couldn't think of either Butch or Brick blushing so easily. Did Brick even blush? Thinking back, I think he did blush a little when our siblings were teasing us.

Wait... He blushed whenever I touched his scars, didn't he?

"I used to think they were beautiful, but now I'm kinda ashamed of them," I remembered Brick saying when we were in the bathroom that night. It was the first, and only, time I had seen Brick completely bare under the bright light (and him me).

What was the deal with the scars then? Why did he truly do that to himself?

"So, how are we going to split this?" Buttercup asked. "Do we need to check Brick's room?"

"Didn't the police search it already?" Bubbles questioned.

"No. They didn't want to investigate much because they didn't really want much attention on this issue. Apparently, they want to stick to the story that the thing with the park was a natural disaster," Boomer explained. "If anyone saw them coming over to our place, there might be a risk of unwanted media attention. Plus, since Brick did confess to it…" Boomer trailed off, grimacing slightly.

"I'll search Brick's room," I offered. "I want to see if there's anything there that could explain why he did all this."

"Do you think he has a reason? Maybe he just wants to destroy stuff," Buttercup said.

"But it doesn't make sense that he didn't use his ability to escape from us when they took him in that day," I pointed out. "And now that I think about it, a lot of things don't make sense."

"Well, I'm busy now so if you girls have any questions or you need help or anything, go to Butch," Boomer said, sitting down and picking up a paint brush. Turning back to Butch, I saw him scowl.

"Bubbles, you check Boomer's room and Buttercup, you check Butch's," I instructed.

"Oh so I'm getting the hot basketballer in my room, eh? What an achievement," Butch sniggered and Buttercup walked up to him, only for her to elbow him in the ribs.

I headed to the end of the corridor and turned to Brick's room. His room was as dark and as neat as I remembered. I walked over to open his blinds, letting the light stream into the room— something I knew that Brick would never do. Brick's room was simple and almost empty. The bed was unmade but it only had a quilt and a pair of pillows. The bedside table had a lamp on it and there was a book placed beside the lamp, a bookmark sticking out from the middle of the pages. He had a closet at one corner of the room, right before the turn to the bathroom, and a table at the other end. Beside the window, at the corner, were a few stacks of books. He didn't seem to own a bookshelf and I figured he was too lazy to go and get one, so it looked like he arranged all his books neatly at a corner of his room. I walked over to his bed, trying my best to force the memories of us holding each other and kissing to the back of my mind. I picked up the book and looked at it, before slowly flipping through. It seemed like it was a collection of accounts from different people, all of whom had lost loved ones from genocides and had lived through the rules of tyrannical dictators and warlords.

Not something I would read but, interesting.

I walked over to his collection of books and started looking through them. He had a lot on books on war and history. Looking through, I found a few storybooks as well. Not many but mainly books from authors like George Orwell and Anthony Burgees.

So that was what he did when he was bored. He'd sit in his dark room, all alone, with books about torture, pain and death. It wasn't surprising. It wasn't entirely out of his character. Perhaps, it was the only way for him to reconnect to his old life as a villain, through the tales of other villains.

That still didn't help me ease any of my confusion.

I walked over to his table and sat on the chair. The table was coated with dust, just a little. He obviously didn't use it much. I opened the one of the drawers at the side and saw a bunch of papers.

Taking them out, I realized that they were essays.

"Is everything alright here?" I looked up and saw Butch peeking into the room.

"Yeah, everything's fine, I suppose," I sighed, looking back down at the bunch of essays I had in my hand.

Butch walked up to me. "What are those?"

"I found them in his drawer. Looks like essays but I don't think he handed them in," I said, flipping through the pieces of paper.

I randomly pulled one out of the stack and stared at the words, handwritten in dark blue ink. Brick's handwriting wasn't messy but it wasn't the easiest to read either. It had an artistic tinge to it, a slight cursiveness to it, (not that big a surprise once you know that he was related to one of the most artistic students in their school) but it was those kind of handwriting you could stare at for a long time but you'd rather not read. I read it anyway. The essay's title was short and simple: _Right and Wrong_.

"This is one of the essays Ms Winters gave us at the start of the year. Apparently it was to help her understand us on a personal level or something," Butch explained. "Brick and I aren't in the same class for English but we do have the same teacher so I guess she did it for their class as well."

"Really?" I murmured, my eyes glazing over the words as I started skimming. He had started the essay with a familiar quote— one I had heard of plenty of times but never actually thought much of.

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'

The core of Brick's essay centered around the spectrum of good and evil, explaining how no one was truly good nor evil and there was always a part of someone that we could call the devil, metaphorically, debunking common belief that right and wrong exists in two separate segments, with no grey area between them. Every action has its rights and wrong. It was a matter of which one outweighed the other but even then, there was the issue with perception. A murderer could be more right than wrong although he took a life. A thief could be more wrong than right although he merely stole some money.

"This is some high level shit. I'm getting a headache reading this," Butch grumbled.

"This is an A+ essay, without a doubt," I said, flipping through and pulling out another one.

The next one I pulled out was titled _My Dream_. I skimmed through that as well. This one wasn't as deep as the other, nor was it intellectual at all. Even so, I would say it was well done and very emotional, at least. The essay just had one point: "I want to be great again." From what I got from that essay, it didn't matter how. To him, all that mattered was that he didn't have to run and hide from humiliation again. He wanted his freedom. So, was that why he gave in to his new ability?

Butch took the essay from me as I began skimming through the rest. The more I read, the more confused I became. All of his essays were perfect, yet, he never handed a single one in. Why would he go through the trouble of penning everything down, just to stuff them into a drawer?

"Were these much too personal for him to let someone else read?" I wondered aloud, looking up at Butch.

Butch didn't seem to hear me. He was frowning, his fingers digging into the paper he was holding till it was creased.

"Hey, Butch!" I raised my voice a little and he jumped, looking down at me with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am," he said quickly, turning back to the paper. "It's just that… he sounds so sad here… I can't help but wonder if it was because of me. I didn't treat him nicely at all. I was a jerk to him because I always held him responsible for our failure… even though it gave me a new life."

"Yeah, you were a jerk," I agreed, remembering briefly the slight argument we had on the day I found out about Brick's self-inflictions. "But you've tried to change, haven't you?"

"But it's too late, isn't it? The crimes happened before that. I was probably the one who pushed him to it. He was probably upset that his own brother was rejecting him. He says he wants to be great again… What if… He got that ability from HIM because he really just wants to be great again?"

I took the essay from Butch and returned in back to the pile. Placing it back in the drawer, I got up, lightly placing a hand on Butch's shoulder in an attempt to console him.

"Leave it be. There's no use fretting over it now," I said.

"What are they going to do to him, Blossom? Are they going to kill him?" he asked. "I don't want him to die… I mean, he's my brother."

I smiled softly at him. "Do you miss him?"

"I don't know… In the first place, he doesn't leave his room so the house doesn't feel that different without him," Butch admitted. "But dinner's different… and I can't help but wonder why. Why would Brick kill so many people? We've hurt people before but we've never _killed_ anyone before."

"So why would he do something like that now? Was he desperately seeking attention?" I wondered aloud, but shooting down that thought anyway. If he wanted attention, he wouldn't have hidden his ability and his acts. Why did he remain silent?

"I wish he had said something to us, you know," Butch sighed. "But then, it might have been too hard for him."

 _I wish he had said something to me too, Butch._

"Do you… miss him?" Butch continued, asking me the very question I had asked him.

"Not really," I admitted. I wasn't sure if I missed him. Sure, there was a strange feeling derived from his actions but after the lies he had told me, there was no way I was missing him. It really was a different feeling altogether.

It almost felt like disappointment. Did I place too much hope and trust into him? Did I really think that someone like him could change for the better? I had hoped for more out of him.

"Brick and you," Butch said. "How close were you guys?"

"We weren't that close," I sighed.

 _I mean, all we did was have sex three times in one night._

"Brick said you guys kissed before," Butch added.

"Oh? Yeah, like when we were five. I made him blow up." Butch raised an eyebrow at my words and I bit my lip. "Alright… maybe we could have ended up doing some stuff but… it was a one night thing and there wasn't going to be commitment or anything."

Whether that was a lie or a truth, I, myself, didn't know. What really was Brick to me? And, by extension, I couldn't help but wonder. What was I to Brick?

Maybe if I could talk to him once, I could resolve all my burning questions (that too, only if he was honest).

Maybe, I should pay Brick a visit.

But before that, there was someone else I wanted to visit.

* * *

Pain pain pain. More pain. Even more pain.

And then everything disappeared and I fade back into nothingness. Everything was black. I couldn't tell the difference between waking up and falling asleep. I wondered if I went blind. Maybe they did something to my eyes. Something was covering my eyes but I didn't know what it was. It could be a blindfold or it could be a bandage. Whatever it was, it couldn't be removed even though it was cloth. I had tried to pull it down. I had tried to rip it. Maybe my strength was waning. Maybe the material was enforced with something. Maybe it was both.

My body was starting to itch again. The itch and pain alternated and all I could do was bear with it. Maybe I scratched myself too much. Maybe I might have done something to myself. I don't know. I can't remember anything about that time except darkness. I couldn't feel my body aside from the itch and pain. When I lifted my arms, did anything even move? Are my limbs even there? Do I even have a body left or did there merely preserve my consciousness somehow? Maybe I became a robot.

 _Hahahaha… No, no._ The dystopian novels I had read were starting to mess with my mind. Maybe I should have stuck to mere history after all. At least I wouldn't end up merging fiction and reality. Of course I had my body. Everything was just numb.

 _I'm being dumb. I'm thinking too much. I'm fine…_

If I had my head, I was probably shaking it ( _No. I have it. It's there. It's just numb._ ). I needed to just hold on. Whatever they were doing to me would not matter in the future. I just needed to bear with it. I would let them do as they please with me, willingly so that my sanity wouldn't be compromised. That pain they made me feel— I wanted it. Every time they hit me or beat me up— I liked it. Every needle pushed into me— give me more. As long as they are doing what I want, I will be fine. I wouldn't die, not physically, not mentally. I will survive until…

 _Until… Until when, exactly? I'm going to die here._

The thought made me whimper and I guessed I wanted to cower back. I couldn't feel anything but something told me I was trembling.

 _No, no, no. Nonononononononono._

Thoughts like that were bad. I needed to get ahold of myself.

 _Why am I alone? Why am I here? What wrong did I do?_

I wanted to grab my head if I could. I had to think straight. I couldn't afford to lose it.

 _I… I must have done something wrong… This is punishment. I did something wrong so I'm being punished. I am alone because I'm wrong… Even though we made a promise…_

 _A promise? Huh?_

I shook my head again (I think). What was I going on about? I needed to get ahold of myself. But as the images flashed through my mind I knew breathing deepened.

 _Blossom…_

She promised that I wouldn't be alone. She told me that she would be at my side from then on and that I wouldn't be alone again. She had said that, hadn't she? She did, didn't she? Blossom made a promise with me, right?

 _Where are you?_

Was there even a promise or was it all my imagination? Blossom wasn't the kind to break promises.

 _But I hurt her…_

Yeah, yeah. I hurt her… What did I do again?

 _I... I... Huh? What?_

That was bad. My memories were starting to really fuck up. Everything was a daze. I couldn't remember what exactly it was that made her angry and upset. There was the party. Blossom and I went to her apartment. I could remember an argument. There were hands dragging me.

The itch was getting worse and I could do nothing to ease it. Maybe I was doing something but I just didn't realize— I couldn't see and feel after all. I wanted to leave, to be freed of the darkness I knew nothing about and had no hope of understanding. I didn't know how long I had been in there. The concept of time didn't seem to exist anymore, especially since everything was just plain and black.

 _I don't like this…_

It felt like there was something else with me in the darkness. It felt like I was being watched. But I couldn't move away from where I was. Whatever it was that was with me, it was giving me the creeps. I could feel a chill grab hold of me, squeezing my conscience till it was about to fall apart. I tried to call out, or speak at least, but all I could hear was silence. I was in danger, wasn't I? Something was being done to me. Someone (or something) was observing me. Something was going to happen to me. What was going to happen to me?

 _Stop stop. I don't want to die._

Death? If they wanted to kill me, they could easily have done so. The more I thought about my situation, the more confused and paranoid I got. I didn't want it to end up this way. What stupid thing could I have done to earn such a punishment? Why was I so dumb? Why didn't I just listen to what I was told?

 _Save me…_

I really wanted it to end.

 _Blossom… where are you?_

I had to do something. I had to get out.

 _It's dark. It's lonely. I'm scared._

What kind of punishment was it, even? I had no idea what was going on. What was the use of putting me in complete darkness, rendering me completely hopeless? I knew that occasionally I was brought out (I still couldn't see, though). I knew that they did things to me. I didn't know what it was or why they did it to me. I just knew that, they were punishing me… because I was evil and evil should never survive.

Because I did something evil, they were making me suffer in the darkness, with the never-ending pain and itch.

 _I'm all alone. You promised. You promised I won't be alone. Why am I alone? Why aren't you here?_

* * *

 _I'm tired so I'm not going to say much. It's midnight, I just read a heartbreaking manga chapter and I want to go to sleep. Thank you guys so much for all your support. I love reading your reviews. Thank you so much for giving me an idea about what Brick's going through. I've read stuff like that before but I don't actually know any official diagnosis of it. Having you guys tell me some stuff about it makes me happy because I feel like I'm learning more about my own creation (by creation I mean the characterization and not the character of course ahah)._

 _So thanks for everything. Do continue to leave reviews as well as f &f this (and me). I'll probably wrap this up before I wrap my other story up since I really really love this one so much. Now, as I go and cry over a potential character death from my favourite manga, I hope you all have a good day/night._


	12. Chapter 12

I stood outside the house, breathing deeply as I tried to calm myself down. The house was a simple house, small and humble. The path leading up to it was lined with clumps of bushes and a flower bed sat a distance away, well taken care of. Swallowing my fear, I walked to the door and knocked on it. The door opened and a young boy was standing in front of me. At the sight of me, he brightened for a moment, before he started looking around.

"Brick isn't here with me," I said, trying to ignore how my throat constricted at his name.

Dylan looked up with a slight pout. "Again?"

"He… won't be able to visit you," I said. "Can I come inside? I'll explain."

"Alright." Dylan stepped aside and I entered the house. It wasn't a big house. It was much smaller than the one my family had, but it had more than enough space for two people. As I walked to the living room, I realized that Dylan's aunt didn't seem to be around.

"Where's your aunt?" I asked.

"She's asleep. She came home quite late last night," Dylan replied.

"Really? Were you lonely when she was gone?"

"Kinda, but it's alright. She wasn't supposed to be home until today afternoon so I'm really glad she came back early," Dylan admitted. "Do you want a drink?"

"No, it's alright," I said, though from the way my throat was going dry, perhaps a drink was a good idea. Dylan sat beside me and we both remained silent for a while.

"Why doesn't Brick come to see me?" he asked.

"He has his own issues to deal with," I replied. "It's kinda hard for him."

"What is? Am I a burden to him?"

"No, it's not you…"

"Then what?"

I stared at Dylan for a while as he stared up at me with questioning eyes. "Brick… has a hard life, especially since his past was… well, you know how it's like. If he came to visit you and someone saw it, they might start treating you differently as well."

I didn't know how I came up with that excuse but it seemed to work on Dylan. He sighed slightly and leaned backwards into the couch, slouching a little. His eyes were fixed on something low, probably the floor.

"Hey Blossom, is Brick really that bad?" Dylan asked.

 _Yes, very._

I held my tongue as I contemplated a response. Dylan was still looking downwards, making no attempt to hide his disappointment.

"Well, it depends on what you think 'bad' is," I admitted.

"Someone who's bad will be like someone who destroyed the park… Not Brick. He's a good guy since he saved my life," Dylan replied.

 _So is he both bad and good, then?_

"So… what if Brick was the person who destroyed the park?" I asked. Dylan looked up at me, raising an eyebrow.

"It's impossible."

"It's just a hypothetical situation," I said as an excuse.

"It's impossible," Dylan said again as he continued staring at me for a while. "Isn't it?"

"Maybe…" I wanted to tell him the truth but I could tell that Dylan was really fond of Brick. After he had lost so much at such a young age, how would he react if he found out that the person he trusted so much for saving his life was the same person who killed the rest of his family.

"Was he really the one who did it?" Dylan asked, suddenly sitting up. "Brick asked me the exact same questions as you did."

"What?"

"The other day… in the hospital, Brick asked me the same thing. He said it was a hypothetical situation as well, but the both of you have the exact same look in your eyes as you said it… I just can't help but wonder," Dylan said, "was it really Brick?"

"Dylan… listen to me… Brick, he…"

"Is that why he won't come to see me? Does he feel guilty about it?" Dylan asked, jumping up to his feet. I could see his eyes start to water. "If it's Brick… then, I know it's not his fault… Something must have happened. He saved my life, Blossom. He can't be evil."

He was just deluding himself. He just didn't want to believe that the person he trusted so much could be the same person who brought him pain. He was just trying to find excuses for Brick.

 _Was he?_

It must be amazing to be a young and normal kid. All that his life revolved around was himself. When was that ever the case for me? Since birth, I was worrying about everyone else but me. Dylan could pretend that Brick was not evil because all that mattered to him was himself. But it was different for me. If I pretended that he wasn't evil and I left him be, he could hurt anyone, just like the people in the park and the boys in the alley.

"But he is, Dylan. He has been all his life," I insisted bitterly. "No one knows him better than I do. He's the one who destroyed the park. He's the reason your family…" I stopped immediately, not wanting to say anything else. Dylan was sobbing, his hands brought up to his face.

"Someone else… Someone else must have done it… Brick would never do such a thing!" Dylan cried out.

Why would he destroy an entire park, killing everyone inside, then proceed to save a lone child? Was it to appear innocent? Probably not. With his speed, he could have fled the scene. It was only because he saved Dylan that we saw him there. Was it possible that something else was going on? What was Brick saying the other day again? What was he saying when he was being arrested and when I refused to listen to him?

That's right.

 _It was an accident._

"If Brick really didn't mean to do this but he ended up doing so anyway, who's at fault then?" I asked Dylan.

Dylan's answer was simple and quick. "The person who pushed him to that point."

HIM.

"The truth is, Dylan, Brick had been arrested," I admitted. Dylan looked up immediately. His teary eyes widened at my words.

"What? Why?"

"Because they found out about the park," I said. I didn't want to bring in the issue of Mitch. If the park was an accident, the incident with Mitch could probably be an accident as well. After all, Mitch and his friends were the ones who were humiliating him. As insensitive as it may sound, they reaped what the sowed.

"No!" Dylan gasped. "Blossom, you have to save him!"

"I can't save him. He's guilty and he needs to be punished," I explained. "I really can't do anything Dylan. I'm sorry."

"No, no!" he cried. "My parents are gone. My sister is gone. Brick can't be gone as well. You have to bring him back. Please, Blossom."

Dylan was sobbing so hard in front of me. I knew I couldn't save Brick. I knew that it was a hopeless situation. But as he cried in front of me, I understood what Brick went through in the hospital with Dylan. No wonder he made that promise to catch the guy responsible. It was impossible to turn Dylan down when he was crying, especially after knowing what he had been through.

"I'll try my best," I said and Dylan immediately smiled. "I'll try to get him out, okay? But for now, just keep this all to yourself."

"Yes! Thank you so much, Blossom!" he said, grabbing my hands in his.

I didn't know if I could save Brick. I didn't know if I wanted to. But I was sure that, as I had thought earlier on, I needed to talk to Brick. Dylan confirmed the doubts I had on Brick ever since I read his essays. All I needed to do was talk to Brick.

The only problem was, when I went to the police station in hopes of being able to see him, everyone there knew nothing about Brick's arrest. Brick was never brought to the police station. He wasn't taken in by the police.

In that case, who were the men who took him from my apartment? Who were the ones who questioned us?

We had all along believed that they were the police and had let them do whatever they wanted to him. But now, who was it that really had him and why did they want him?

* * *

I was being drugged. I say that for sure because there were, for really short periods of time, moments when I was able to actually feel like I was again in control of my body. I could feel my arms. I could wiggle my fingers and toes. I could hear my voice when I opened my mouth and spoke up. Whatever they had been feeding me had made me lose control of my body completely, till I was made to feel like a non-existence. I wanted to be relieved but mostly, I was too confused and worried to even be able to enjoy the feeling of having my body back in my control.

In most of those short moments when I felt like my own person again, I still couldn't do much because I was still blindfolded and bounded. For the first one, I think I was seated on a chair. It sure felt like it. My legs were cuffed to the chair's legs, probably, and my arms were cuffed to the back. I couldn't move and it didn't seem like I had my powers with me. Honestly, I doubt I would have been able to escape even with my powers, unless I rely on my newest one. But even then, they didn't seem to be willing to remove my blindfold.

I could sense someone walk in even though that person was almost silent and I was blindfolded. From the footsteps, it sounded like the person was wearing heels— a woman? I tried to struggle out of the confinements again but it didn't seem to help much.

"There's no use struggling, Brick. You're going to be trapped here for the rest of your life. Might as well accept it." It was a woman's voice. She sounded to be rather young but even then, there was a professional tinge to it. Although she didn't sound malicious, a sense of dread washed over me and I found myself stilling as she instructed.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"That's none of your concern." Her reply came from behind me and it sounded a short distance away. I let myself relax, just for a while.

"Where am I?"

"Somewhere you don't know about. Even if I do tell you, it's highly unlikely you'll know this place," she replied. Her voice seemed to be getting nearer. I could hear something scraping along the ground. Was he dragging something along with her? A weapon?

"What's going on?"

"Well, your incarceration, obviously," she laughed. Her voice was coming from straight ahead. The dragging had stopped as well. She had just pulled up a chair to sit down in front of me. It was only my mind that was playing tricks and making me paranoid for no reason.

"My… incarceration…" I murmured.

"Yes. You remember what you did, don't you?" Her voice sounded so gentle and assuring. I almost wanted to trust her.

"I…"

"Well, it's only natural that you're a little disoriented. It's only been six hours since we stopped the dosage and you've been asleep till now," she said. "Allow me to help jog your memory. Remember the park? Or what about the boys in the alley."

The park… Townsville's park… Right, the one outside my apartment. The park that was so full of sunshine and laughter than I had to close my blinds so that I wouldn't have to look at it when I was in my room. It was the place I completely shut out so that I could forget about how I yearned to belong in such a place. It was… a beautiful place.

An image flashed in my mind. There was a crater where it once stood. The sky was dark. The streets around it was gloomy. There was no laughter, no cries, only silence. The place was littered with limbs, guts and dismembered bodies. There was blood everywhere. There was one boy. A blond boy was standing in the middle. He was sobbing silently.

The boy's name was Dylan. He lost his family when the park was destroyed. He lost his family when I destroyed the park.

 _I remember now._

I took a sudden deep intake of breath, almost choking, and it was all that the woman needed to know that I could remember. "So you remember everything now, do you? What about the alley? That was your work as well, wasn't it?"

 _Mitch… Mitch and his friends._

"I… I didn't mean to. It was an accident," I immediately said. I knew why everything was happening to me. I knew then why I was going through all that pain and confusion. It was all because of HIM. It was his fault. He made me do all that.

 _Did he really?_

"What happened?" the woman asked.

"It wasn't me… It wasn't me…" I whispered. "It was HIM."

"Really?" She was laughing and from the sound of it, I could picture, in my mind, someone throwing her head backwards as she laughed. "You don't believe that. I can hear it in your voice. You don't even sound like you're trying to hide it."

"I have nothing to hide…"

"You know you're responsible. You think it's your fault. There's no denying that." She was laughing again and I began to think that I really hated her laughter. It seemed so mocking and demeaning that it made me cower slightly. It was like she was looking right through me, into my deepest thoughts and feelings. I felt practically transparent. I felt exposed.

"I didn't mean to do it… All of it…"

"Accidents happen, don't they?" she sighed. I could hear ruffling as, I assumed, she got up. I felt her take me by my chin, tilting my head upwards. "But you have to live with the consequences of your actions, even if they are accidents. Let's say a woman gets pregnant before she's ready. She still has to deal with the baby, doesn't she? Raising it, adoption, abortion— stuff like that. You've killed people even though you didn't mean to. You broke your promise to the government. As per the agreement, you have to be taken in."

"This… this is unfair! I didn't ask for all this. He made me do it!"

She ignored my childish outburst and released her hold on me. My head fell slightly, drooping forward again. "Well, whether you did anything illegal or not, the fact that you have such an ability only means that you are too dangerous to be outside."

"This is unfair. Would you have done it if one of the girls had it?"

"Probably not." Her reply was frank and immediate. I could hear her walking about the place and gathering things. Mainly, aside from the noises of her heels hitting the ground, I could hear glass clanking.

"This really is unfair." All I could do was whine and complain like I was a hopeless little kid. I had never felt so pathetic in my life. I thought I had it bad whenever Mitch pinned me to the wall and beat me up. I had all along thought that it was the worst kind of embarrassment I could be in. I was so wrong.

"Well, you can continue saying that but it's not going to change anything." She was behind me. As she spoke, I could feel a sharp pain piercing my arm and my body jerked slightly from it. Was it an injection?

"Can you at least tell me what you're doing to me?" I asked. "What have you been doing to me? I was barely conscious but I know you've been hurting me a lot and doing lots of stuff to me."

"I'm taking some blood from you. Blood samples, you know," she replied. The needle (probably) was removed from my arm and I heard her shuffle a little before she walked to the other end of the room. There was more shuffling and more clinking of glass. "We're just studying you, Brick. We want to know what it is you guys really are. We want to understand your biology… Your genes can hold the key to a lot of things. Imagine all the possibilities that your powers could bring— the advancement in science and technology… in the medical sector particularly."

"I don't quite get it," I admitted.

She walked back to me. Her voice came from right in front again. "Your accelerated healing and superior body structure can help to cure many diseases and prolong many lives," she explained. "But of course, we doctors aren't the only ones who have an interest in you. I heard that the military intends to use you for some experiments… or maybe, they might have already started… You said someone was hurting you, right?"

"I think so."

"Well, don't sound so sad. You're going to help a lot of people. Your DNA will save more lives than you've ever taken and destroyed. Take it as… an act of repentance or penitence."

It didn't really matter who was doing what to me. I couldn't see anyone. To me, all of them were the same. They locked me up in an isolated facility, in complete darkness, and were doing as they pleased with me. Whether they were hurting me as part of an experiment or taking samples for medical advancements didn't matter to me. I wasn't a good person. I was born into evil and I grew up in complete evilness. It didn't matter to me that whatever they were doing to me was going to save lives. Fuck that, I already killed people. I had gone past the limit I had subconsciously set for myself. So what if I can save people now? I already killed so many. The damage was already done. Repentance? Penitence? More like bullshit, if you ask me.

She was moving around again and I heard her stop behind me. My arm started to hurt again and this time, I could feel her cutting it up with something, which I believed was a scalpel. It was only a little and it didn't hurt as much as what I had done to myself did. I managed to get through it with only a little stiffening of my body.

"Well, that makes blood and tissue samples… Wow, I'm actually done," she mused behind me. "I still have a lot of time, though. I can actually go back home earlier than I planned to."

 _Home…_

I hadn't been home since that morning. I didn't even know how long ago that was. I lost all sense of time ever since they had locked me up in complete darkness. Had it been days, months or years? I doubt that it had been as long as years but for all I know, a whole year could have passed. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case honestly.

How long ago had it been since I saw my brothers? How were they doing? Did they know about what happened? What did they think about it? Were they nonchalant, worried or disgusted?

 _I want to see them…_

Did those people do anything to them? Were they being suspected because of my actions? Were they going through the same thing as me?

 _No… Boomer... Butch… No…_

"Oh? Your breathing has changed. What's wrong?" the woman asked, chuckling softly.

I spoke even before I could think. "My brothers… What happened to them?"

"Nothing happened to them. They're probably at home now since it's three in the morning," she said.

"Nothing…?"

"Yes, nothing. Your arrest is still classified information so the public are unaware as well. Nothing's changed for your brothers," she said. "Well, except for increased supervision from the girls but I'm guess you're fine with them… After all, you trust them, don't you?"

"I…"

"Don't bother lying to me. I know all about what happened when you were arrested." She was laughing hard, in a way that made me feel stupid. At that moment, I decided that I hated her. "You and Blossom… Are the two of you a thing?"

 _Blossom…_

"They said you were in her apartment and that the two of you made quite a scene when the truth was out. I would have loved to see that." She hadn't stopped laughing. She hadn't stopped laughing at all.

My mind was filled with images of Blossom's face, flashing from her smiles over to her tears. I had made her laugh. I had made her cry. But nothing could beat the final expression she made right before I was taken away. I hated it. I hated that look of betrayal and hurt she looked at me with. I hated myself for making her feel that way.

"Shut up… You know nothing," I hissed. What would she know? What would she know about what happened between us? Who was she to just laugh at what happened between us?

"On the contrary, I know everything. Blossom told us when we questioned her. She told us everything, about how you've cheated her mainly... about how you've acted… about what you've done…" Her voice trailed off. She was in front of me now and I think she had gotten lower, probably onto her knees. Her hands initially rested on my lap as I felt her body against my legs. Her left hand moved upwards, under my shirt and along my body. "She told us all about what you've done to yourself… how you cut yourself and how you tried to kill yourself…"

 _No… Why would she…?_

She told them everything. Blossom told them everything about me. They knew about how I was so upset, I ended up hurting myself. They knew about how I craved my physical pain as a replacement for my loneliness and despair. They knew about my weakest moments and it was all because Blossom told them— because the girl I trusted told them everything.

"Just how far would you go for that pitiful act of yours, Brick?" the woman asked. "Did you stab your eye just to get her into your pants? And three times in one night, at that. Pretty impressive, I would say."

 _She really did tell them everything._

The woman moved away but immediately after, I felt a weight pressing downwards against my lap. She was sitting on me. She wound an arm around my shoulder as she took my chin in one hand to tilt my head upwards again.

"What's wrong? You've gone all silent," she mockingly wondered aloud. "What's the matter? Do you miss her?"

 _Of course I do._

"Are you angry that she told us everything about you? No, I don't think so… You seem more… sad… disappointed even…" She laughed loudly after she spoke, lightly stroking my face. "But it's fair. An eye for an eye, Brickie. You betrayed her as well."

 _I want to talk to Blossom again._

I could feel her move closer to me and a tremble shot through my spine. Her mouth was close to my ear. I could hear and feel her breathing. "It's a pity she left you all alone, though. If it were me, I wouldn't trust anyone with you, especially not after your ability has been made known," she whispered directly into my ear. "Poor thing. She didn't even come to check on you. No one even visited you, not her, not your brothers."

I could hear my own breathing hitch at her words. I had all along assumed that no one came to check up on me because I wasn't allowed any visitors. To think that it was because no one bothered to even try to see me, it made my head spin. I thought they cared. I thought Boomer and Butch cared. I thought Blossom cared. If they really did care, didn't they want answers? Wouldn't they want to know why I did it? Did it really not matter to them? Were they pretending that everything was okay and that I didn't do anything or were they pretending that I didn't even exist? Was that it? Did I not matter to them?

 _This isn't fair. This is unfair. I don't deserve this._

"This isn't true," I whispered. "You're lying."

"Am I? Really? You don't see anyone around here coming to visit you, do you?" She was laughing again. Just how much could she laugh? How was she finding everything about me funny? Was my situation something to be laughed at?

If I had my powers, she probably would be dead. If I wasn't wearing a blindfold, she would definitely be dead.

"Give it up. You're a dead man now. No one's going to bother," she said, laughing again. She didn't speak after that. Those were her last words to me before she injected something into me, before I started fading back into the semi-conscious state I was in.

I was going to be left alone again. I was going to be alone in the dark with nothing but my own thoughts to accompany me. I wasn't going to be able to feel myself again. I was going to lose it again. I was going to start forgetting everything and everyone again.

 _I don't want this._

I was alone again. I didn't want to be alone again.

 _You promised you promised. You promised I won't be alone._

"Blossom…"

Once her name slipped out from my lips, I heard the woman burst out laughing again. As I fell unconscious, her laughter continued to ring in my ears, proceeding to haunt me for a much longer time that I had anticipated.

* * *

 _Well this took a little longer. I apologize since I was busy with certain applications and preparations. You know, all the usual annoying stuff. Anyway, I'll leave this short so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm guessing that there will be only a few more chapters left. I doubt this will go over 20 chapter. I know that I really need to finish my other story as well so I should start working on that also... I procrastinate so much that it annoys me sometimes._

 _Well, whatever. The PPG reboot has started and to be completely honest, I really don't know what to think about it. I hope the boys do appear in it. They were my favourite villains actually, though I do find Brick quite annoying... which is rather ironic because I love writing fics in Brick's perspective (then again, I've never done a little kid Brick before so that may be it)._

 _Anyway, I'll be leaving this at that and so, fav, follow and leave a review if you wish to. It would make me smile honestly. :)_


	13. Chapter 13

"This really is confidential information, Blossom. I shouldn't be passing this to you." But even as she said it, Ms Bellum passed me a file filled with a couple of documents.

After the police station had been a complete failure for me, I needed to turn to other sources if I really wanted to see Brick again. The best chance I had was the Mayor's office. If I couldn't find anything there, Brick was probably in trouble and even though he was guilty of certain crimes, I needed to go and save him.

But since Ms Bellum managed to pass me some documents on his arrest, I let myself relax. The government probably decided that for the sake of stability, everything needed to be done in secrecy.

"I just want to talk to him. Is that possible?" I asked.

"Well, you'll need authorization," Ms Bellum admitted, sighing as she crossed her arms across her chest. She took the files from me. "I'll see what I can do. Wait here for a moment."

I had to resist the urge to grin as I watched her disappear into the Mayor's office. A random girl would probably never receive authorization to visit such a dangerous criminal. But I was not a normal girl. Even if they wanted to keep my sisters and I out of it, they couldn't exactly refuse our requests. After all, we did them a huge favour by rejecting their offer to pay us for our services. I would say that they were indebted to us. So when I asked Ms Bellum for information on Brick, she offered to search their database and she printed out whatever they had on him for me. I didn't know if what she did was legal or allowed but I was truly grateful for it.

Ms Bellum emerged a short time later, passing the folder back to me as well as a slip of paper that seemed to be my authorization to visit the facility Brick was being held at. After thanking her, I decided to return home and look through the documents. But instead of going back to my house, I decided to return to my apartment, where there would be no chance of anyone else seeing the documents. Even though I trusted my sisters, I didn't want them finding these documents. In the first place, both of them seemed content with what had happened to Brick. It was as if they never trusted him in the first place, although they had talked to him nicely and joked around with him back at the party.

Social pretense could be a scary thing at times.

I returned to my apartment and entered my bedroom, laying the file on the bed as I went to turn on the air-conditioning. It was hard but I tried to focus on the task at hand, refusing to recall the moments Brick and I had shared in that very room. As I climbed onto my bed and sat down, I had to force images of us out of my mind. Those memories were lies. They weren't genuine. There was no use recalling them.

I opened the folder and started looking through the documents. The first one was a set of data on Brick, including his height, weight, age, blood type and stuff like that. They weren't anything that were useful to me. Sure, I knew that Brick was taller and heavier than me and we were definitely the same age. Information like that wasn't going to help me at all.

But even then, I continued staring at that document, mainly because my eyes were caught by the small photograph printed at the top right corner. It was him. As I stared at the photo of him, I could feel a weight seemingly start to pull me down. It felt like I hadn't seen him in so long, although it hadn't been that long. I had gone longer without seeing him in the past but it had never bothered me before.

I shook my head and placed that document aside. I continued looking through the documents. The next set of data took me by surprise, mainly because I could not comprehend them at all. My eyes scanned the words a couple of times to make sure I was looking at what I thought I was looking at. It was true. Everything was printed in black and white. Why did such a data exist?

 _Body strength: 356%_

 _Pain tolerance: 279%_

 _Regenerative ability: 160%_

 _Intelligence: 500%_

 _Morality: 12%_

 _*Data is derived with 50% being the assumed conventional human capability_

Were they running tests on him? Why were they studying him? If they were studying things like his tolerance to pain and his regeneration, didn't that mean that they were actually hurting him?

I decided to read further. It seemed like on top of whatever tests they were doing on him, they were also working on other things, such as certain drugs and their effects on Brick. As I read the list of drugs that were being given to him, I realized that I knew not a single one of them. For me not to know even a single one could only mean that they were either experimental drugs or drugs that were used for top-secret reasons.

What were they doing to him?

As I continued reading on, the final statement caught me completely off guard.

 _Psychological status: Unstable_

 _Staff are advised to take precautions when dealing with subject._

Psychological status? Unstable? Subject? I didn't know which one to fret over more. In the first place, Brick wasn't the sanest person I knew and at times, the way he saw the world and thought about things worried me. Especially since his outburst at the pizza place the other day, I had found myself worried entirely about him and this worry had only grown with all the other discoveries and incidents that followed it. But in the end, how did I end up forgetting about this just because of his crimes? I had realised that he needed help and I had mentioned it to the people who interrogated me the other time (I told them everything, thinking they were police). But it was only at this moment that I actually linked everything together. His actions. His words. His essays. His feelings. His crimes.

I should have realized that his crimes could have been a result of his wavering health.

Shit.

So if he was being treated like a lab rat after all that he had already been through, who knew what would happen?

I continued flipping through the documents but all I got was information on the facility, nothing more about Brick. It seemed like the facility was built some time in the past year as an isolation centre in the event that the boys refused to abide by the contract and had to be detained. It seemed like the entire building was built with a material that could withstand both the boys and us the girls. The guards situated there were armed with weapons developed from Mojo's technology, which was aimed at the destruction of the Powerpuff Girls. In other words, in that facility, our powers were hopeless and the boys and us were mere people in there.

Even if I went to visit Brick, I couldn't break him out of there on my own.

"Well, there's no guarantee that he's unhappy," I murmured to no one in particular. "For all I know, he might be happier there and the tests could have been done with his consent."

I gathered the documents and kept them in the drawer of my bedside table. Taking merely the authorization slip, I started heading out. It was late in the evening but since Brick was being held there continuously, it didn't matter what time I went. The information I had on the place didn't seem to have opening hours or visiting hours either. All I knew was that it was deep in the woods, almost situated at the other end, away from town and most civilisations. It came with no surprise then that when I finally reached the location after much looking, it was already around sunset.

It was a big metal building with no elaborate designs. It wasn't tall but it was broad. In fact, it was surrounded by a much taller wall, with a glass dome above, to completely enclose the area. The building was just like a simple box, with guards lined at the sides. At the same time, there were guards lining the wall, both inside and outside. I flew downwards and landed right in front of the large door. There was a button at the side and I pushed it. After a long wait, the door opened slightly and an armored guard peeked out, holding his hand out. He didn't say anything but I placed the slip on his hand anyway. He stepped back and the door closed again, leaving me outside for another long wait.

They were really taking the defenses seriously.

When the door opened again, this time, it was a woman who stood waiting for me. The moment our eyes met, I realized immediately who it was and the woman's eyes brightened in recognition as well.

"I heard we had a visitor but I didn't expect it to be you, Blossom!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Ms Clarissa, what are you doing here?" I asked.

What was Dylan's aunt doing here?

"I work here," she said.

"You… work for the government? I thought you're a doctor," I said.

"I am a doctor. I'm here to study," she said. She nodded at me and I started following her. We walked towards the building and she scanned her thumbprints to open the door. As we continued walking in, she continued talking as I looked around the entirely white corridor with doors to rooms and nothing else. "Many believe that with Brick's DNA, we can achieve great advancements in medical technology. So they sent me here to study him."

"So you're a scientist," I stated flatly, "not a doctor."

"Well, I guess I'm both," she laughed. "So what can I do for you, Blossom?"

"I want to see Brick. I have some questions to ask him," I admitted.

She stopped and stared at me, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Really? For what? Are you trying to prove his innocence or are you trying to prove his guilt? Either way, it won't change anything."

"It's more for my own peace of mind," I said, waving my hands slightly and hoping to appear innocent. "You see, Brick and I were kinda close and I really would like to talk to him… just this once?"

Clarissa wasn't pleased but she shrugged. "You have authorization from the Mayor. I can't go against that." She pressed her thumb to the control panel behind her and the door that we stopped beside immediately clicked. "Go on ahead and see him. This is his room. When you're done, just knock on the door. I'll open it for you."

"Erm… I'll get some privacy with him, right?" I asked.

The tightening of her features did not go unnoticed by me but I feigned ignorance. She forced out a smile. "Of course, Blossom."

I opened the door and stepped in, preparing myself to meet Brick again after a long time. The room was simple and white, just like the rest of the building. Aside from a bed, there really was nothing else in there, not even a window or a light source. Brick was seated on the bed, curled up into a ball. His legs were pulled up to his chest, his head was rested on his knees and his arms were wrapped around his legs.

"Brick…" I called out softly. "It's me."

He didn't respond but I could see him stiffen and I could hear a sudden hitch in his building. It was obvious that he could recognize me by my voice. I walked forward till I stood in front of him.

"Brick?"

"What… do you want?" he asked softly.

"I just want to talk to you," I replied.

"About what? What's there to say now?" He sounded hostile and unwelcoming but he raised his head slightly.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier on… I really am sorry, Brick," I said. "Tell me… Tell me what happened exactly."

"And then what?" he snapped. His fingers tightened and dug down into his clothed elbow. "Will it set me free? It won't. Leave it, Blossom. There's no use. You shouldn't have come."

"Please Brick, I really am so sorry," I whispered. I lowered myself so that I was kneeling on the ground, trying to at least meet his level. I reached out to touch his hand and I could feel him tremble slightly. "Were they really accidents?"

Brick took a deep breath and he nodded.

"You didn't want to kill them, right?"

"I didn't think it would happen. I'm sorry. I just couldn't control my thoughts." He raised his head a little more and I realized that he had a blindfold on. Considering the nature of his ability, there was no surprise that he was blindfolded but if he had been blindfolded from the moment he was arrested and sent there, there was no surprise that his psychological status was unstable. I reached out and touched it before trying to pull it downwards. It didn't move at all.

"What's with this?" I wondered aloud, getting up and climbing onto his bed. I leaned over him, trying to get a better look at the blindfold. It took me awhile and a little squinting but I realized eventually why the blindfold was so stuck in place. There were stitches. It was sewn onto his skin.

"What the heck?" I gasped, immediately grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him backwards a little. Brick raised his head a little more. "Tell me what's been going on here. What have they done to you?"

"I don't know," he said.

"You don't know? How can you not know?"

"I'm unconscious most of the time."

"Doesn't anything hurt? Does your body hurt? Your head?"

"No."

"Really? Brick, please!" I realized that I was screaming but the sight of the stitches caught me completely by surprise. It was sick and horrifying and I instantly wanted to take him along with me and leave the place.

Brick didn't respond and I decided to search for the answers by myself. I pushed him to completely lean against the wall, almost lying backwards, and I pushed his shirt upwards. His body no longer had the scars from his self-inflictions. The scars that were now on his body were foreign and new. None of them seemed anything like the ones I had memorized from looking at him so much the other day. As I blinked my eyes, I could feel tears start to roll down my face. I thought I had prepared myself for this. I had told myself that it was possible that they were doing tests on him. I knew that they were hurting him. But even then, when I saw the concrete evidence up close, I couldn't keep the emotions welling up in me in check.

I tried my best to remain calm and looked around a little more. The slight redness of his wrist caught my attention and I grabbed his arm, pulling him forward as I pushed his sleeves up. The skin of his wrists seem flayed and the first thought that came to my mind was rope burns, or at least something similar. Had they tried binding him? As I looked further up his arm, I realized that his entire arm from his elbow to his wrist was streaked. Long red lines stretched the full length of the arm. Some were fresh and bleeding. Some were scabbed. Others were a mixture of both.

"What happened here?" I asked. "Did they do this to you?"

"No… My arm itches a little occasionally," he replied with a slight shrug.

I doubted that he realized. He probably didn't know that he had been hurting himself again. Was it because they had numbed his body or was it because they had done so much to him that he became immune to such inconsequential pain?

"Brick, have they been hurting you?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

"But what's all these? Scars, wounds, scabs… God, there are even bruises and these look quite fresh," I pointed out. "Please Brick."

He shook his head. "I'm fine, Blossom."

His voice was steady and I couldn't see his eyes. But even then, I could tell that he was lying. I had no idea why he did it and I doubted he was going to tell me what was really going on. If I had to make a guess, I believed that they probably threatened him into silence. In the event that that was true and they had him wrapped around their finger, there was no telling what they would do to him. If they were able to force him into submission, they could do anything they wanted to him without having to fear any intervention. Who's to stop them if he agreed to everything, right?

The only thing I could do to help him at that moment was pull him into my arms, hoping to convince him that I was truly there for him. But with his next words, I had a feeling I had already lost him partially.

"Why did you tell them?" he asked.

* * *

Some time after that incident with that woman, I found out that someone was going to visit me. They didn't tell me who that person was but I could tell that they were worried. I woke up one day realizing that I could move, feel, talk and hear. I was lying on a bed. My head was above a pillow. There was a blanket over my body. Even though I was blindfolded, I felt entirely normal. At least, aside from the fact that every inch of my body was hurting and even though I could move my limbs, they felt far too heavy.

I was still in complete darkness but the feeling of being watched wasn't there anymore. At least, it wasn't intensely there. I was still sure that there were cameras watching me but the ominous presence had vanished. All I could do was sit in confusion.

After awhile, I heard a click and a door opened. Two people walked in and from the sound of their footsteps I could tell what they were wearing on their feet. There were one pair of heels and another pair of combat boots.

"So you're awake, right?" The voice belong to the woman from that incident some time back. I could recognize her voice mainly because it was the only one I had heard in such a long time.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing much but you're having a visitor." The other voice belonged to a man. This one, I hadn't heard before or maybe I did but I just couldn't remember because of all the drugs I had been on. But the only reason I didn't fear this voice although it sounded plain terrifying, was because of my acquaintance to the other person.

"A visitor?" I wondered aloud. "Who?"

"That doesn't matter but what does matter is what you're going to do about it," the woman replied. "Listen here, you're going to pretend that everything is okay. All you need to do is sign something."

"I… don't—" I was cut off as something slammed against my face and I felt myself fall onto the bed. My clothes were grabbed and I was hoisted up and pushed backwards, till my back hit something really hard— the wall, probably.

"Listen here, you piece of shit. You're going to pretend that we're not doing anything to you against your wishes and everything that happened were agreed to by you," the man hissed. "Is that understood?"

I realized that they were threatened by whoever was coming. That was it. That was my big break. That person was going to be my key to escape. I just needed to do something. Something at all.

 _What exactly?_

"Like I will," I muttered, only to earn another punch to my face. I felt myself being pulled forward until I fell forward and onto the hard ground. Another hard blow came to the back of my head and, in the process, my forehead slammed down hard on the ground. My head burst into a sudden blast of pain that stretched all the way down my neck. I had gotten hit worse before but since I always had my powers, I never knew how painful it was to get hit by someone else. As I felt my hair being grabbed, I tried to focus my attention on the words that were being spoken.

"If you pretend everything's okay, things will stay as they are. If not, everything's just going to get worse," the woman said.

Everything? What? Were they going to leave me in disorientation forever?

"Everything we do to you, we'll do it to you while you're fully conscious. You don't want that, do you?" she continued.

Everything they did to me… What were they even doing to me? Was it something bad or something I could take? Was I willing to take the gamble?

"Come on, Brick, be a good boy. You're stuck here forever anyway. Might as well cooperate," the woman sighed. Her hands pressed against my face and her fingers lightly stroked me, her long manicured nails trailing my skin. Her touch felt so cold and unwanted.

 _Forever. I'm stuck there forever… Really?_

Could I really not do anything for myself? Was I really going to stay there like some helpless victim waiting for somebody to save me? Couldn't I save myself? I had always only relied on myself. So why wasn't I doing the same? I was awake and conscious. This was my chance. There would be no other chance for me.

Roughly estimating, I shoved my arms forward and pushed her backwards. Immediately after, I grabbed the arm that was holding onto my hair and tried to wrench it off me. In the struggle, I got on my feet, still bent forward, as the man staggered backwards. My scalp was hurting. It felt like my hair was going to rip off my head. In a final desperate attempt, I lunged forward and thankfully, I felt my body slam into his. The man released me and I immediately got to my feet.

 _Shit… I can't see…_

I grabbed onto the blindfold and tried to pull it off. Every movement I made only made the pain in my temples increase. Yet, the blindfold remained in position, without moving even a little. My short moment with the blindfold was all they needed to recover and I felt another punch across my face again, followed by a much harder one to my stomach. My knees buckled and I dropped down, doubling over as I tried to ease the pain as well as the incoming nausea.

"You think you're really smart, don't you?" the man growled. I felt his foot slam into my face and I was sent flying back. My head hit the ground again but this time, before I could even realize my head was hurting even more, I felt him slam his foot down onto my stomach. He repeated the action a few times until my body ached like it never did before. My stomach was churning. I could feel something rising up and I had to force it down.

It's not like I had stuff to throw up anyway. I couldn't recall eating food at all.

"Are you going to listen now?" he asked, yelling. At every word, he slammed his foot down on me again, the repeated action aimed at different parts of me this time. "Huh? You're going to be a brat even after all you did? Listen here, you fucking psycho, you're not human. Nothing we do to you is against the law. We're backed by the government. No one can save you."

 _Then… why are you so worried?_

I didn't know why I couldn't find the courage to ask him that question out loud. The old me would have done so. The old me was fearless and confident. I was nothing anymore. I was nothing but a shell. I couldn't speak up when I wanted to. I couldn't defend myself. All I could do was whine and cry in my head about how pathetic I was.

 _Stop it. I want to be alone now._

Did I really want to be alone?

"Now you listen to me. You're our little bitch and we'll do whatever we like to you. But if she ever finds out about it, there'll be problem. So you stay silent and just pretend everything's okay, understand? If you don't, I'll make sure I give it to you much worse," he snarled. He slammed his foot down once more, this time, aimed at my throat. I gagged at the impact, immediately grabbing his foot to try and reduce the pressure. But no matter how I tried to push him off me, he continued pressing his weight downwards.

 _No… no…_

It was getting hard to breathe. My lungs were burning. My throat was screaming. My eyes were tearing. I couldn't think much anymore. Everything was in a daze. Everything was a blur. I was going to die. I was going to die for real.

 _Oh fuck…_

"I… I'll do… as you say," I said, choking from the effort. He removed his foot and I immediately gasped for air, coughing and spluttering as I tried to breathe.

"Well then," the woman said. She took my hand and placed something long between my fingers, pushing them to wrap around it. She guided my hand downwards till the object was pressing down on the ground. It was a pen. There probably was a piece of paper there. "Just sign here."

I couldn't see what exactly I was signing but I scribbled my signature down. I didn't know what that document contained nor did I know what it meant for me. I knew it wasn't anything good and I knew that I just fucked up my only chance at an escape. And why did I do it? All because I was scared of a little pain and death. If I could bring myself to slit myself with a broken piece of glass and let myself bleed throughout the night, how was I afraid of a little beating? Why was it that I was so scared that he might suffocate me to death when I easily managed to chug down a whole handful of pills that could overdose me. Why was I terrified of pain and death at the hands of others but not myself?

Once they had my signature, I was left alone in the room again. My body still hurting (especially my throat), I sat up slowly and tried to find my way to the bed again. Climbing up the bed was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The man seemed to be a lot stronger that I thought he was and my body was in a worse shape than I thought it was. On my bed, I brought my legs up closed to my chest and hugged them tightly, resting my head on my knees. I suddenly felt exhausted but I didn't want to sleep. I didn't know if my eyes were closed or open. I couldn't really tell from the complete darkness I was put in continuously. But either way, I managed to stay awake yet still somehow.

Even when the door opened, I didn't react much. I figured that the visitor would be someone important enough that the man and woman would feel threatened by. They were also probably associated to the law, or at least some kind of human rights advocate, since the man and woman were so determined to conceal the actions that was going on in this place. Nothing that was happening to me was legal or humane. Even criminals had rights. I had nothing. I was being treated like a lab rat, a specimen meant for study, maybe even a creature that simply intrigued these men and women of science.

When the visitor spoke up and I realised her identity, I couldn't stop myself from reacting.

 _Blossom…_

She came. She finally came.

What I felt at that very moment can't possible be expressed by words. It was a whole range of emotions, bursting out of the confinement that I had unknowingly forced them in during my time in isolations. I was glad that she came. I was thankful that I wasn't forgotten. I was relieved that she still cared. I was annoyed that it took her so long. I was upset that she had left me alone all this while. I was angry that she told them everything about us. As those emotions raged within me, I remained balled up on my bed, wondering what she even came to visit me for.

When she spoke up again, my anger took control as it had done a lot of times in the past. I had been a hot-headed person back in the days anyway. Even as Blossom talked to me and checked my body for wounds and scars, all that was going through my mind was the woman's words from back then. Blossom told them about us. She told them about our private moments and about me. They knew every dirty secret about me because she told them.

Even though I trusted her with all of them…

So although I could have told Blossom everything that was happening and maybe get her to help me out of that place, I didn't. It completely slipped my mind. They didn't even need my signature on whatever it was they made me sign. They didn't even need to beat me up and threaten to kill me to silence me. I willingly forgot everything all because everything that mattered to me then was that Blossom wronged me. Even if I missed her and even if I wanted to hold her again, she still had betrayed me. There was nothing that could make me forget that.

"I promise I'll get you out. I promise I will," Blossom whispered to me.

 _Oh, like how you promised I won't be alone?_

As she spoke, she pulled me into a tight hug, squeezing me like she never did before. I could tell from her hold and words that she did miss me and that she did want me back and I wanted very much to hug her back. But I didn't.

"Why did you tell them?" I asked. Blossom stiffened at my words and fell silent. I could tell she knew exactly what I was referring to. She released me and I could sense her move back. What kind of expression did she have on her face? If only I could see her face…

"It was an official interrogation. I had to come clean," she replied.

"Why?"

"They found you in my apartment. They wanted to know our connection," she said.

"So you told them everything we've done and you threw in additional information about me," I muttered.

"It isn't like that, Brick. I thought I was dealing with the police. I thought they would get you the help you needed," Blossom said.

"Help?"

"You're ill, Brick! There's nothing healthy about what you do to yourself and how you act!" she continued.

It took me some time to fully grasp the implications of her words and it would be safe to say that it intensified my anger a lot. "You think I'm crazy…"

"That's not it!" she insisted. "I don't think you're crazy. You're sick. It's probably some kind of depression or a disorder or something. You're not crazy."

But her words were making me crazy. I was starting to get mad with rage. So what if we had such an enjoyable time? Nothing would have lasted. That girl obviously did not understand me. HIM was right. He was right about everything. I was deluding myself. There was nothing between us.

"So… was that why you stuck to me? Because you want to help me _recover_?"

"Yes but that's not all—"

"Fucking hell," I cut in. "I thought you felt something about me, Blossom, but you're telling me that you just pitied me?"

 _No, wait, I shouldn't be saying this._

"Everything you did with me was because you think I'm some kind of demented, sick patient. Is that right?"

 _Stop… I'm being too mean…_

"Brick, stop… Listen…" Blossom pleaded.

I shook my head. My throat constricted and I could tell that my voice was growing weaker. "I… felt something…"

Blossom was holding onto my arms and I could feel a wave of conflicting emotions. Should I pull away? Should I push her away? Should I just remain still? Should I pull her closer?

"I thought… I thought…"

 _Huh? What did I think?_

My head was hanging low but Blossom took my face and pushed it up. If I could see, I would probably be looking into her eyes. I felt her lean her forehead against mine, her fingers pressing against me softly.

"Please Brick… You know just as well as I do that something isn't right," she whispered.

 _I know..._

"Shut up," I snapped. "You know nothing."

 _Why can't I just accept it?_

I heard her breathing hitch and I could tell she was crying. I could feel my anger bubbling up again and I had the urge to murder the source. Why did it had to turn out this way? Why couldn't we be some other pair of normal teenagers fighting over dates and exes? Why were we so bent on hurting each other?

"Just go Blossom. Leave me. Don't come back," I muttered.

I could feel her nod her head before she moved away from me. As she walked away, I listened to her footsteps, memorizing the sound of her sole softly hitting the concrete ground. I heard a knock and soon, the door open.

"You know, Brick," she said and in my mind, I pictured her wiping her eyes as she said this, without even turning to look at me. "I care about you a lot. I really like us and the short time we spent together. I don't know if this is love but you're important to me. I miss you and I really can't stop thinking about you."

The door was closed shut and I was alone again, left alone with the weight of her spoken words and the greater weight of my unspoken ones.

 _No… Come back…_

There were still things I wanted to say and there were still things I wanted to do. I had gotten angry at her words but that wouldn't change the fact that they were true. No matter how ugly they sounded, she was right when she said that something was wrong with me. I had known all along that I wasn't exactly healthy. I just hated it. I hated the thought of being sick. I hated the thought of needing help. When Blossom pointed it out, even though I already knew everything, I denied it, only because my ego wouldn't let me accept the truth and come off as someone needing help.

And it pushed her away— her and my only chance at getting better.

 _Ah, that's right._

My downfall had always been because I couldn't control my anger and pride. That was how the level-headed Blossom always got the better of me back when we were younger. I lost my cool far too early to think of appropriate plans. I was too proud to admit defeat till we were too late.

Maybe, the old Brick never truly left. I was still the same person as I was back then. Only, instead of projecting my anger and pride on others, I did it to myself. I harmed myself for the unjust I faced and I couldn't bring myself to admit that I needed help. The reason I ended up in that fucking hellhole was none other than that.

I hadn't changed at all. My problem wasn't that my changed circumstances had changed me. It was that my changed circumstances did not change me. I was still a killer. I was still a monster. I was still a destroyer.

My greatest victim was myself.

* * *

 _Welp, here's the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm not going to say much, aside from thanking everyone for reading this and leaving your reviews, favoriting and following this. It really means a lot to me. :D So I guess I'll see you guys soon._


	14. Chapter 14

I didn't know if I was supposed to be pissed off with Brick or the people who made him that way. As I closed the door behind me, I saw Clarissa leaning against the wall and watching me with a playful grin.

"Well, I supposed that was a tearful reunion," she laughed.

I frowned at her, hurriedly wiping the tears that were gathering in my eyes. "What did you do to him?" I asked.

"We did a lot of things to him. I can't possibly list all of them down. It'll take forever," she replied.

"Then tell me why he's blindfolded and why the blindfold is sewed onto him!" I instructed. "There's nothing acceptable about that."

"Of course there is!" Clarissa chuckled. "He has the ability to destroy anything or anyone just through his sight. It's far too dangerous for us to take the risk."

"You can't just sew it on him! It's… it's…" I stopped, fuming, as I tried to find words to express myself.

"It's inhumane, perhaps? Cruel? Disgusting? _Nauseating_? Or maybe… just plain sick?" Clarissa suggested mockingly. "Let me remind you Blossom, this is the boy who destroyed the park and killed hundreds of people so brutally. This is the boy who orphaned my nephew, ruined his life and had the face to pretend to be a good guy in his eyes. He took everything away from Dylan and he pretended as if nothing happened. I even thanked him for what he did. I can't believe it. I thanked him… him… the one who took my sister away from me." Clarissa shook her head and turned away from me, facing her back to me entirely. I heard a soft sniff coming from her and I began to realize what was going on.

"So… it's a personal grudge that drives you, isn't it?" I asked. Clarissa turned to me slightly, looking at me from the corner of her eye. I stepped closer to her. "You're acting on your own emotions and you're hurting Brick because of it! Brick didn't intend to do it. He was being used. Even Dylan could understand this."

"I don't care who the mastermind is. This boy was the one who did it. Nothing else matters," she muttered.

"What you're doing is wrong. If I leaked this out to the public, it'll be the end of all of this. I have your files. I will do this," I threatened.

"That won't help you one bit. We have Brick's authorization for whatever we're doing to him," Clarissa replied, turning to me. With that, she reverted completely to her professional persona. She reached into her coat and pulled out a piece of paper, which, from its heading, I could clearly tell it was a document authorizing the entire thing. At the bottom, in blue ink, was Brick's signature.

"You forced him to sign this, didn't you?" I challenged. "What did you do? Threaten to hurt him even more?"

"Believe whatever you want to but with this, no matter what you do with the documents you have obtained through clearly illegal means, we will not get into trouble," Clarissa replied. I tried to reach out to the piece of paper but Clarissa immediately pulled it away and folded it, before keeping it back into her coat. "Now, Blossom, I believe you have no other reason to be here so I would appreciate if you leave. I have work to do."

I couldn't say much after her dismissal. What could I say anyway? She made complete sense when she spoke. Clarissa walked me out of the place in silence. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to her but I held my tongue. The moment I was out of their territory, I took off without a second glance back. The entire place gave me the creeps and I just wanted to get out of the woods as fast as I could. Thinking about it, going into that place alone was completely dangerous. They could have killed me if they wanted to. Their weapons and armours were specially built to withstand Chemical X. I was powerless over there.

It probably was much scarier for Brick who was stripped off his powers, left in complete darkness and isolated from the rest of the world. He didn't seem like himself at all but that came with no surprise.

At least, he didn't seem like himself up to the point he started getting angry. That was completely Brick and I was glad I hadn't completely lost him. I might have lost him as a friend (or whatever we were) but at least I hadn't lost Brick. Brick was still in there. In that shell I saw in the room, it was relieving to know that deep down, he still existed.

Still…

Brick had the perfect reason to get angry but the fact that he didn't try and understand where I was coming from annoyed me a little. Even so, if I wanted him to know that I wasn't pretending and lying to him, the best way to do that was to get him out of that place. But was that even possible?

I couldn't do it myself. I definitely needed help. But who could I turn to? I doubted that my sisters were willing to help and I didn't know if Boomer and Butch were willing to risk their lives for Brick. Even so, since I had no other choice, I decided to pay Boomer and Butch a visit, hoping to some higher power that they would be willing to help.

However, when I arrived at the boys' apartment, I realized that the boys had guests over and their guests happened to be none other than my sisters. I knocked on the door when I reached their apartment, only for Bubbles to answer the door.

"Bubbles! What are you doing here?" I gasped.

"I'm helping Boomer with the art pieces. Buttercup's here as well because she was bored at home," Bubbles replied, letting me into the place. The moment I entered, I saw Butch and Buttercup seated on the couch while playing some zombie game on the television. Boomer was seated on the floor at the other corner of the room, working on some paintings. At my entrance, he looked up and his eyes flashed in surprise.

"I didn't know Blossom was coming as well," he chuckled. "Hey, Bloss!"

"I didn't call her," Bubbles admitted. "Well, actually I did call her but she didn't pick up. Blossom, you didn't pick up your phone."

"I was somewhere so I didn't bring my phone along," I replied.

"Wow. That's unlike you," Buttercup commented. Her eyes were still fixed on her game so I hadn't realized that she had noticed my arrival until she spoke up.

"Where'd you go?" Butch asked. "I can't think of anywhere you'd go without a phone."

"I went to see Brick. I didn't know if I was allowed to bring my phone," I admitted. At my words, Butch turned around and looked at me in complete shock. Boomer continued with his painting for a few seconds before he put his brush down and sighed, looking up at me with a conflicted emotion.

"So did you manage to talk to him? How is he?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "He's… alive."

"Wait wait," Butch said quickly, getting up to his feet. His controller was still in his hand and his game was still running but he paid no heed to it. "We were told that Brick isn't allowed any visitors."

"No one told me that."

"So have they decided on a sentence for him?" Buttercup asked, getting up as well. "Life imprisonment? Death?"

"No, Buttercup, it's a little more complicated than that," I replied. "The police don't have him. He's with some other people."

"The government?" Bubbles wondered aloud.

"Maybe… Probably… I don't know for sure," I replied.

"Can we go visit?" Butch asked.

I shook my head. "I had to get authorization from the Mayor's office. I don't think it's something you'd be able to get easily, Butch."

"Woah, hold it," Buttercup cut in. "You went to the Mayor to get authorization. Just why would you do that? Why'd you go so far to see him?"

"I wanted to talk to him. It doesn't make sense for him to just kill people. He got nothing out of it. So I wanted to know why he did it," I replied. "He said it was an accident."

Buttercup's eyes narrowed to a hard glare. "Blossom, he killed so many people. What does it matter if he did it accidentally? He still did it. He wanted it to happen. That's why it happened. That's how that strange ability of his works, right?"

I looked down, clenching my fists. I knew Buttercup was right. It was something I couldn't argue with. No matter what, Brick's crimes were something we should not be overlooking.

"But you know," Bubbles murmured. "It makes sense that it was an accident. With an ability like that, you'd have to keep your thoughts in check constantly. Brick's an emotional person. It's not something that will be easy for him to do. I don't blame him… and I also think that arresting him for it isn't right. He didn't ask for the ability, did he?"

"So then what? You wanna break him out?" Buttercup scoffed.

"We can't do that. It's illegal," Boomer replied bitterly. "If anything goes wrong, all of us will end up with him and that's not good. Brick is my brother and all but he spoilt his own life and he's paying for it now. I don't want to spoil mine. I've been given a second chance and I want everything to remain as it is."

"But Boomer… It's our fault that he ended up this way!" Butch insisted.

"Really? I don't think so," Boomer admitted. His voice sounded so flat and exhausted that for a moment, I completely understood where he was coming from. "I tried my best Butch. I tried my best to be there for him, to talk to him and to get him to talk to us. He kept pushing me away. He pushed the both of us away. Butch, we have our own lives and I agree that there were moments where we both went too far with him. But we have our own lives too. We can't be there for him forever."

"He's our brother!" Butch cried out.

"So what?" Buttercup snapped. "When Blossom did something wrong last time, we turned her in as well."

"That's different, Buttercup. Blossom wasn't going to stay in jail for her whole life," Bubbles sighed. "Boomer, are you really sure that you're fine with Brick having to live in jail till he dies?"

"He… had it coming," Boomer replied, turning around and walking back to his painting. "He made his choice and now, I'm making mine."

"But… he's in jail, Boomer!" Butch said. "If he said it was an accident, he shouldn't be there, should he?"

All of them were arguing without even knowing the full story. There was no way leaving Brick alone was the right thing.

"Whether or not Brick killed anyone, the moment his ability was made known, they would have taken him," I said. "What they're doing to him has nothing to do with his crimes!"

Thankfully, this gained Boomer's attention and he turned back to me with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"They're running tests on him. They are doing really strange things to him. I don't know what exactly but I think they're hurting him. When I went to see him, they had him locked in this really dark room and he was blindfolded. It's a permanent blindfold that's sewn to his skin and—"

"Wait what?" Buttercup snapped, cutting into my ramble. Everyone was staring at me and it was obvious that they were finding it hard to believe what I was saying.

"Did you just say what I think you did?" Boomer asked, completely flabbergasted.

"The blindfold is… _sewn_ … onto him?" Butch gasped.

"Blossom, are you sure about this? It was dark… Maybe—"

"I know what I saw, Bubbles!" I cut in. "You guys don't know how terrifying to see him like that. He had scars and bruises all over his body. His arms had scratches on them and all. And he… He was… It was like he was broken…"

"I don't understand," Boomer murmured. "Why would they want Brick for this?"

"Because he's not human, just like the rest of us. They think his DNA holds the key to medical advancements and whatnot. They're using him for that," I replied. "I feel bad for wanting to help him because it is for a just cause but… it feels wrong. Brick doesn't deserve this."

For some reason, I decided to leave Clarissa's involvement and her personal grudge. It probably was due to the fact that the rest weren't acquainted to her like Brick and I were (technically, Brick didn't know her either but he did know her nephew). Bringing Clarissa in might confuse them and complicate the issue at hand further.

"What does Brick want?" Boomer asked slowly.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Brick… said he was barely conscious. He has no idea what's going on… but guys, every second we leave him there, he's just getting worse. Please, you have to believe me. He's not doing so well… He's been ill for quite some time. Leaving him there is only deteriorating his metal state further. If we don't help him now, I don't know what will happen to him. They're going to drive him crazy. He might die or lose himself and I don't want that. You can't possibly want that do, can you, Boomer?"

Boomer pressed his lips together into a grim frown. Slowly, he began to shake his head. "This mission is insane but if what you're saying is true, I can't leave Brick as he is."

"But is it safe?" Buttercup asked. "He's killed people. Whether intentionally or not, when he uses his ability, all he brings is destruction. He's too dangerous."

"But if you go it by that way, those people could use him to do dangerous things as well," Bubbles pointed out.

"That's not the issue," I replied. "I'm sure that the Professor can help us out with this. We just need to break him out."

"It's illegal," Boomer murmured.

"I'll deal with the cops," I said immediately.

I needed their help. I really needed their help to rescue Brick. Even if I had to take the fall for them, I would.

"They might kill us," Boomer said.

"I have a plan," I replied.

I didn't want to leave Brick alone in there. I didn't want him to worsen. I wanted to help him.

"Bloss, are you sure about this?" Boomer sighed. His skepticism was so unlike him but I could understand why he was being that way. The risk was far too great.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said.

"Then, I guess I have no choice," Boomer sighed. "You in, Butch?" Boomer and Butch exchanged looks and Butch nodded. I sighed in thankful relief, feeling my body relax a little.

"Okay, so the three of us—"

"Hold it, Bloss," Buttercup cut in. "I'm coming with you and so is Bubbles?"

I looked at both my sisters who were grinning at me and I frowned a little. "But… why? It's dangerous. I don't want you two getting into trouble," I said.

"We're coming and that's final," Buttercup snapped.

"We can't leave you alone on something so important," Bubble explained. "Besides, you and Brick look good together so I want you to go rescue him and be together with him."

I was so conflicted over putting them in danger that I didn't realize that she was teasing me. Bubbles and Buttercup would be a big help in the mission but it wasn't something that involved them directly. They weren't friends with Brick. Brick's well-being shouldn't have concerned them. But then again, anyone with a heart would feel sympathy for Brick in that state he was in. It was the basis of humanity. Maybe it was that.

"Alright then. Come along," I said.

I really should have considered it a little longer. I should have tried to stop them and keep them safe. But I wanted to save Brick as fast as I could. Bringing my sisters along was a practical idea so I didn't end up rejecting their help. In the end, there was only one thing bugging my mind.

Why was I so determined to rescue him even though the last time we spoke, he made it clear he didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore?

* * *

After Blossom left, I was left in silence and darkness again. This time, I wasn't entirely alone because I was accompanied by my racing thoughts. Why did I let my anger take over? Why did I ask her to leave? Why didn't I tell her the truth? Why didn't I ask her for help? Why did I make it seem like I didn't want her to come back?

 _Why? Why was I so dumb? Why did I do that? Why?_

There was no way Blossom was going to come for me. There was no way I was going to be rescued. It was either I saved myself or I stayed there till I died. But with all the drugs and restrictions they had placed on me, escaping by my own seemed impossible. All I could do was… nothing.

 _Why?_

I let myself fall onto the bed, curling up beneath the thin blanket I had. Even though it was summer, it was far too cold. The air-conditioning was practically freezing.

 _Why why why why why why why why?_

I wasn't even on the drugs. They hadn't fed me anything. But even then, I could feel my paranoia start to build up. Something was going wrong. Something was going to happen. They were going to do something to me. I knew it. I just knew it. The itch was starting again, moving away from my arms and to my chest and body. I didn't want to move but my hands started clawing at my body on my own. The itch was worsening and it was driving me insane.

 _Make it stop. Make it stop… someone, please._

My fingernails dug into my already scabbed skin and I could feel it start to hurt, even though the itch wasn't subsiding. Scratching myself wasn't helping, aside from just hurting my skin even more. There was no use hurting myself as well because eventually, someone was going to step in and drag me someplace where all they'll do was make me feel pain. There was only so much pain I could take, even for someone like me.

 _Blossom's right. There really is something wrong with me._

All I could do was try to sleep, ignoring the pain and itch and ignoring the dampening heaviness I felt in myself after chasing Blossom away. My mind continued replaying our conversations over and over again, coming up with different stuff I could say to her at different occasions.

 _I'm glad you're here._

 _I miss you._

 _Get me out of here._

 _Help me._

 _I need you._

"I need you." I murmured it out loud without really knowing why. It's not like Blossom was going to hear me. She couldn't. Besides, I told her to go.

I shook my head. "Come back… Come back… I want to…"

 _I don't know if this is love but you're important to me._

Blossom's voice was ringing in my head and I shook my head again, moving my hands to my ears and squeezing my already (probably) closed eyes shut tighter.

My completely black visions were soon filled with images of light and colours. I knew immediately that I was asleep. There was no other times, aside from my sleep, when I saw light and colours. Initially, I thought it was a dream. Subsequently, I realized that it was a memory.

Blossom was there. She was holding me and pulling me into a really bright room. It took me awhile to get used to the brightness but once I did, I realized that it was her bathroom. Blossom wasn't wearing anything but a red shirt. It took me a moment to realize that it was my shirt. It was that night. It was a memory of the night we spent together, the incident right before we went to sleep.

"Blossom…" I murmured and she turned around, looking at me with a wide smile.

"What is it, Brick?" she asked.

"No… nothing…" I said immediately. I didn't know what it was exactly I wanted to say to her. I was just taken aback at how different she looked in the light than she did in the dark. Her hair was illuminating under the light— bright red, just like flames. Her skin, which was slightly tanned after all her crime fighting in broad daylight, was glowing golden. There was something about her that reminded me of a gemstone.

 _My gemstone…_

And what was I? If Blossom was a gem, I was probably coal. Blossom's body was curvy and fit, mine was bony and weak. Blossom's skin was a nice golden shade after all her time in the sun, mine was a sickly pale shade after all the time I shut myself in my room. Blossom's eyes were pink like flowers and cotton candy— welcoming and loving. My eyes were the colour of blood and vice— undesirable.

Blossom stepped closer to me, lightly pressing her hand onto my body, her fingers stroking my skin, tracing one of my scars. Her eyes were fixed on her body and I knew what exactly she was looking at. I stepped away, turning away from her slightly. It was too embarrassing. I didn't want her looking at my scarred body like that. My cheeks were burning and I probably was blushing. I didn't want her to see me like that. Blossom took my by my arm, turning me back to her. Her hand reached over to my face, lightly holding me so that my eyes were fixed on hers.

"This is the first time I'm looking at you completely in the light… Don't turn away from me now. I want to see all of you," she said with a weak smile. Her hands rested against my scars again. "I don't mind how you look Brick. It doesn't matter to me. What matters is you. I want you to smile more."

And I did end up smiling at her words. I stepped closer, leaning my forehead against hers. It was embarrassing for her to be watching me so intently, for her to watch every inch of my clearly unattractive body. Blossom cupped my face with her hands, pulling me in for a kiss. Our lips molded against each other. Blossom's arms moved to wind around my neck, her fingers clawing into my skin as she pushed herself against me. I let my arms travel down her body to rest on her waist, squeezing her slightly.

Holding her felt so right, to the point that I could forget everything. I wanted her and it wasn't in an intimate or sexual way. I just wanted her.

"Your scars," she murmured, moving her lips down my chin and to my neck. She pressed them against my skin at random occasions. Her arms wandered around my body. "I like them."

"Really…?"

"Not in the sense that they're pretty or anything," she said. I felt her take my skin between her teeth, nipping me slightly. The quick pain vanished as fast as it began and I heard myself groan slightly. "I think they're you. They're very much a part of you. They hold stories about you, Brick, about your struggles and your worries. I want to know every one of them. I want to know everything about you."

The feeling was mutual. I wanted to know about her as well.

I grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her in for another kiss again. Blossom staggered backwards, till I had her pressed against the wall. With my arms pressed to her shoulders, I pushed myself against her. Blossom took my hair in her hand, pulling me away from her slightly to smirk at me. Her other hand rested on my chest, tracing another one of my scars.

"Stop that," I sighed. It was too much. Even if she didn't mean anything bad by it, every time she touched them, she reminded me of how ruined I was in comparison to her.

"What?" she asked, partly laughing.

"Touching my scars…" I murmured, leaning close to her again. Blossom raised her eyebrow questioningly and I gave her a quick kiss. "I used to think they were beautiful, but now I'm kinda ashamed of them."

"Really?" This time, she was laughing. "Why?"

"They're not pretty, Blossom," I sighed, standing up straight and putting distance between us. "Look at me and look at you. We look really weird together."

Blossom raised her eyebrow, smiling almost deviously. "Oh… So it's like that," she sniggered. She reached for me again, hooking her fingers into the waistband of my jeans. Blossom pulled me towards her and flipped us around, so that I was leaning against the wall. Her hand moved up my body, continuing her light caresses of my scars. Her other hand unbuttoned my jeans, slowly pulling the zipper down. I didn't know which one to focus my attention on, her hands on the place I wanted the least or her hands on the place I wanted the most.

"Blossom… this is…" I whispered, grabbing the hand that was touching me. She pulled her hand away from me really easily.

"I want to touch them. I want to touch them and I want to see them. I want to memorize the location, shape and colour of every single one of them… because soon, they're going to fade and when they do, I won't get to see them anymore," she said. "At least, I hope I won't get to see any more."

There were so many ways her last statement could be interpreted but I knew immediately what the implications behind those words were.

 _I want you to stop hurting yourself._

I grabbed her and pulled her in for another kiss again. This time, it felt more desperate and rough. This time, I couldn't help myself anymore. I wanted everything. I wanted her kindness. I wanted her warmth. I wanted her courage. I wanted her sweet words. I wanted her soft touch. I wanted her perfect body.

I wanted her. I wanted her so badly.

"Be mine… Just be mine," I whispered, pulling her close to me. My hands were wandering and I didn't know where they were or what they were touching either. Her hands were on my shoulder, fingers digging into my collarbone. I moved my lips down her face to her neck and shoulders, kissing, sucking and tasting every inch I could.

"Brick…" she gasped, tightening her grip on me. "Oh god, don't stop…"

"Blossom," I whispered and I could hear just how heavy and desperate my words sounded. "I don't know what this is. I don't know what I want. I'm confused. I'm lost."

"I know, Brick, I know," she whispered back.

"But… I want you, Bloss," I continued. "I don't know if this is love but you're important to me. I want you to be mine…"

It had only been days. It had only been days since we started talking again. It was only a few days ago she saved me from killing myself. Of course it wasn't love. It was something else, probably pity or guilt on her end. But I had no idea what it was on my part.

 _I don't know if this is love but you're important to me._

I didn't know what it was that made me wake up at this line. At this line, I probably opened my eyes (What would I know? I was fucking blind.). At this line, I sat up, curled myself into a ball with my blanket around me and hugged my body. No wonder it bothered me so much when Blossom herself said it to me. They were my words in the first place.

 _She remembered… She still remembers…_

But what did it matter? I chased her away. I made it seem as if I didn't want her anymore. Why would she come back? She wouldn't. I was alone again.

I heard the door opening and I heard footsteps.

I was alone with those people. It was only then, I realized what it truly meant to yearn for death— not the petty suicidal thoughts I had ages ago, but to truly, from the bottom of my heart, wish and pray for the day my life would come to an end.

It's no longer, "I want to die." From that moment on, it became a, "Please kill me."

* * *

 **I'm screaming. This story is coming so close to an end but I don't want it to end. But anything longer would only make it draggy. :-(**

 **Next chapter: LET'S GO SAVE BRICK! Heh heh heh.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reviewing and following/favouriting. Thank you everyone for your support in this story. I love you guys. I love this story. Everything's as it should be.**


	15. Chapter 15

"So are we clear on the plan?" I asked. Looking around, I saw everyone's heads nod. For probably the hundredth time, I checked the weapons and tools we had with us, just to make sure that everything was in place— guns, laser cutters and extra vials of Chemical X.

Just the previous night, Buttercup, Butch and I snuck into the warehouse near the edge of town. It wasn't a big place or a grand one but in that warehouse, lay the only objects that could help us in our rescue mission. They were none other than confiscated goods and technology developed by Mojo (and occasionally, some other villain) in his attempts at destroying my sisters and I. Naturally, he never managed to defeat us but he had hurt us a few times. Those weapons could hurt my sisters and I, and in extension, they could kill us as well.

In other words, they were the only things that could possibly destroy the infrastructure of the place and the weapons they used over there.

"So as Butch and I start searching the area, the rest of you go straight for that control room," I said, pointing down at the blueprints I had gotten when I visited the Mayor the other time. It was nice of her to provide me with them even if I didn't ask (it was together with other information on the place), though she probably hadn't intended for me to use it to break into the facility.

"Okay, so I guard, Bubbles delete all their data on Brick and Boomer deactivate any security protocols," Buttercup said. She got up and stretched. "All will be well, sis. Come on."

I got up as well, picking up the loaded pistol I had chosen. The rest chose their own weapons as well. In all our pockets, we piled vials of Chemical X, just in case they had antidotes. On top of that, we also carried small bags or pouches, filled with items such as towels and chloroform. We were facing people we never faced before, with strength rivalling even the strongest one of us. It was better to be over-prepared.

We flew up to the glass dome overhead the location, which was the only place where there was neither a guard nor a security camera. Thankfully, since most of the guards below were confident in the security of the place, none of them seemed to bother checking above. The glass was made to be strong enough to withstand our strength and abilities. But Mojo's laser cutters, which were much stronger than the glass, cut through it easily. We cut a hole big enough for us to enter and Bubbles jumped in first, catching the piece of glass that had been cut before it fell and alerted the rest from its noise.

I slipped in afterwards. Still in the sky, we headed towards the back door, which was far less guarded than the main door was. The two guards who were there did not notice us coming since we were in the air. There weren't any security cameras there either so it wasn't too difficult to sneak up on the two of them. With towels soaked in chloroform, we easily managed to knock them out. I signalled to Buttercup and she and the boys came in and joined us.

The door was locked but we easily managed that with the laser cutter. Once we were in, we rushed off in top speed. When the alarms rang out ten seconds later, according to the plan, Bubbles, Buttercup and Boomer should have already reached the control room. The only problem in that was that we didn't know how guarded the inside of the place was. But as I left that issue to Fate, Butch and I headed towards Brick's cell.

Butch had chosen this really huge gun that, when fired, caused explosions strong enough to destroy even the toughest materials on earth. Once we were at the room I remembered from my earlier visit, Butch prepared to fire. Right before we pulled the trigger, the alarms were turned off.

"This is System's Control. False alarm. I repeat, false alarm. As we are facing technical difficulties, this place is now on lockdown and everyone is to cease all activity and remain at your own locations until further notice. I repeat, cease all activity and remain at your own locations until further notice." The voice on the intercom was unmistakably Boomer's and I took that as indication that everything in there had gone on smoothly.

"Hey Bloss," I heard Buttercup say through the earpiece I had in my ear (also taken from the warehouse along with most of our other gear). "This place is all clear."

"No guards?" I asked, pressing into the small button at its top.

"There were but they weren't armed much. I took them all down," she replied.

"Bloss, do you need that door to be opened?" Boomer asked. "It would be better than shooting it and alerting everyone with the sound."

"If you can, that would be good," I replied. I glanced at Butch and he nodded, lowering his gun.

As Boomer was trying to unlock the door, I took a deep breath. Butch was looking around, claiming to be keeping an eye out for anyone. But it was clear that both of us were on the edge. Brick lay just beyond our reach. Only a little more and we would be able to touch him. But even then, I had to wonder. Would Brick even want us there? He told me not to come back. What if he was too pissed off that he resisted? What if he handed us over to them as well?

"It's unlocked!" I heard Boomer cry out just as the door clicked. Butch rushed forward and threw the door open.

The room was still as dark as it was before but this time, it was completely empty. Brick was not there at all. The bed at the corner of the room was unmade but when I went over and touched it, it was all cold.

"He's not here," I said to the rest.

"Now what?" Butch asked.

"Blossom, according to the schedule I found over here, Brick has tests for the whole day today, with a short break around… now," Bubbles said. "He can be anywhere in the facility now."

"Boomer, could you dig up some security camera footages?" I asked. "Try to find out where he is."

"Alright give me a moment," Boomer murmured, and we did. Time went on much slower than it does normally. At any time, something bad could be happening to him. At any time, something bad could happen to us.

"Booms, hurry," Butch hissed, looking around the place agitatedly.

"I got it!" Boomer said. "Alright, I know where he is. Just follow my instructions. Once you leave his room, turn left."

Following Boomer's instructions, we headed towards Brick's current location. Thankfully, with Boomer looking out for us, we were able to avoid areas with too many people and sneak past the rare guards in the corridors. It wasn't too hard since the people there seemed to be pretty over-confident about their security. Maybe they thought that since the Rowdyruff Boys hadn't known about the location and the Powerpuff Girls wouldn't do anything illegal, they could slacken security a little as no one else would try to break into the place.

But they were wrong.

Because my sister's and I didn't stand for the law. We stood for justice. Even if we had to do something illegal to ensure justice is done, so be it.

But even then, saving Brick might be a contradiction to everything we had ever stood for.

"He's in that room just up ahead," Boomer said. "I can't find any footage of inside the room, though. But he hasn't left. He's not alone. He's in there with a woman."

"Just one?" I asked, honestly surprised. I tried to open the door but it was locked. "Boomer, the door."

"Blossom, something's off about that room," he replied. "Not only can't I find any footage in it, I can't find any controls for it as well. The lighting, air-conditioning, heating and the locks are all independent of the rest of the building. I'm sorry."

"Well then, do we have to blast through it?" Butch asked, raising his gun up and aiming it at the door again.

"There must be some other quieter way to get that door open, right?" Boomer asked. "If we make noise and alert anyone that's something is wrong, there is no way we can fight off all the guards."

"So what do we do?" Butch asked. "There isn't anything here to unlock the door either."

Butch was right. Unlike the other rooms we passed, there was no control panel on the outside to unlock the door. There wasn't a keyhole in the doorknob either. It seemed like the room could only be locked from the inside.

"A… bathroom?" I wondered. "Maybe it's a bathroom…"

That made a lot of sense but we didn't have much time to think about our next course of action because just as I came to that conclusion, I heard a loud scream coming from the other side of the door. Even though I had superhearing, I knew that the rooms were made to be close to soundproof, even for us. But for me to be able to hear Brick's scream, it could only mean that it was really loud.

* * *

They didn't keep their promise. Even though I hadn't said anything to Blossom about what they were doing to me, after some time, they started more experiments on me with me fully conscious. I don't think they planned, or even considered, to stop in the first place. It seemed like everything had been pre-planned. At some point in time, they would need me to be conscious. It didn't matter if Blossom had come or not.

It wasn't something I wasn't expecting but at the same time, I did hope that they would be more honest. Then again, there was nothing stopping them from doing anything to me. They could even kill me silently and no one would ever find out.

Sometime after Blossom left, the man from earlier on returned and he dragged me off to somewhere to do something. I don't know how long it had been since she left. I also don't really know what it was he told me to do. Even though I was conscious, the only thing I remember about that was that my head was hurting and that they were asking me to decode something. Whether I managed to do so, I'm not very sure. They did other stuff to me as well but all that I can remember— or maybe it's all that I want to remember— was that everything was hurting. Different occasions had different kinds of pains from different parts of my body. Sometimes I wonder what difference these pain had from the ones caused by my self-inflictions. Pain was pain. But why did I fear and dread the pain I was facing in the facility? Maybe my mindset paid a part. Maybe the fact that they weren't me played a part. Maybe, with me blindfolded and alone, I couldn't enjoy anything due to my fear.

The worst, and final, one happened on my last day at that place. I was chained to a chair and by the end of everything, I was too tired to move. But the worst part of the day was yet to come (and so was the best part, but I'll leave that for later).

"Well, now that that's done, the schedule for today is complete," the man said. He was talking to someone— the woman.

In all honesty, the man and woman could be different ones every time they appeared. I could only identify them through their voice and considering that I can't even remember what exactly was going on, I can't help but wonder if I had misheard them. Maybe they weren't even the same person at every test.

"He looks pretty terrible. Maybe we should get him washed up," the woman replied. I was unchained but before I could move myself, one of them pulled me off the chair and wrenched my arms behind me before tying my wrists together with some kind of twine. My arm was grabbed and I was pulled up to my feet, before being partly dragged forward.

"Where are we going?" I asked softly.

"The bathroom… Well, thinking about it, you haven't had a shower since you got here, have you?" the man wondered aloud. I couldn't recall any of it but my memories weren't exactly the most reliable thing over there.

"We've washed him before but it's not like we gave him a bath," the woman replied. Her voice came from beside me and the man was on my other side.

They led me down some corridors. I remember turning a couple of times but I was much too disoriented to figure out where exactly we were in comparison to our previous location. I heard a door open. The man pulled me in and the door closed behind me.

"Well, now you can take a shower," he said.

"Like this?" I muttered. "How am I supposed to clean myself if I'm tied up and blindfolded?"

"Silly boy," the woman cooed. "I'll help you."

I was pushed forward and downwards, till I fell on my knees. Listening hard, I could hear heeled footsteps walking up to me. Once they stopped, I felt a small, slender hand take me by my chin, tilting my head upwards.

"I have somewhere else to be now so I'll leave you two to it," the man said. I heard the sound of the door opening and shutting again.

"Well then, let's get started," she said and her hand was off me. I heard her footsteps move away from me and they stopped quite some distance away. I heard something being turned and I heard the flowing of water. Her heeled footsteps began again, walking back to me. She took my collar and started pulling me forward and all I did was follow her silently on my knees. Something about the atmosphere between us was starting to make me shiver and be much more wary of her than I already was.

"Do you know who I am, Brick?" she asked. Her hand released me and we both stilled in our movements.

"No," I said immediately. I didn't want her to be someone I knew. Fearing a faceless person was much easier than fearing one who I recognized and knew. It was less humiliating (as if whatever I had been going through wasn't already humiliating enough).

"I am… someone who has been very badly wronged by you," she replied. I think she was kneeling beside me. Her hand was in my hair, her fingers threading through my strands. Her touch was so gentle and soft. It reminded me of the way Blossom played with my hair when she tried to comfort me in my room after I unintentionally tried to kill myself.

 _Just like Blossom. Exactly like Blossom._

"Stop," I whispered. I didn't want her touching me. She wasn't supposed to touch me like that.

"Stop what?" she asked. Her fingers stiffened and she grabbed my hair till my head was jerked backwards. I was immediately grateful for the change. Even if it was hurting me, I preferred it to her gentleness. "I wish I could have asked you to stop. I wished I could have stopped you before you killed my family."

 _Oh. So that's how it was, huh?_

To be frank, I didn't care. I didn't care if I killed her family. I wasn't going to sympathize with her just for that. How many others had lost loved ones from what I did? The park had hundreds of people. Even Mitch and his group of friends had loved ones. They had families, friends and lovers. People die all the time. I had been causing deaths all the time. Even if they didn't die directly from my hands, those who died in the destruction I caused in the past had loved ones too. My whole life had been about killing and destroying. Many people have ended up as victims.

So this woman— this sole, insignificant woman— meant nothing.

"You destroyed my family so in return, I want to destroy you," she replied.

"Sure you do…" I muttered.

I hadn't intended to but I sounded a little sarcastic. She didn't respond. She pushed me forward till I doubled over but nothing really hurt too much. I heard the sound of something being turned again and the sounds of the water stopped.

"The water's a little cold but it's good for a hot summer day," she said. Her words made sense but since I had been in that air-conditioned facility for days, the coolness didn't really appeal to me at all.

"Okay get into the tub," she said.

"Where?" I asked. I couldn't see the tub and my hands were tied so I couldn't feel my way to it.

I felt her hands on me again and she led me towards the tub. It didn't make any sense that she was making me climb into it with my clothes on. But even then, I didn't want her removing my clothes. I knew she had probably already seen more of me than I'd like her to but there was a difference between her seeing me when I was unconscious and when I was conscious.

"Get on your knees," she instructed and I did. I didn't know why I did that. It made no sense.

My legs were fully submerged in water and I was starting to shiver. The water wasn't just a little cold. It was practically freezing. The first thing I thought off when I stepped into the water was frozen ponds and lakes in the winter. Of course someone as stupid as me would have fallen into one till the ice broke before. That shouldn't surprise anyone honestly. But the only difference between the water in this tub and the water in the pond which I fell into after messing around with my brothers about ten years ago was that I could immediately fly out of that one.

"Are you scared?" she asked, almost too sweetly for my liking. She reached over and stroked the side of my head.

I didn't know if I should be honest. "Am I supposed to be scared?" I asked. Somehow, I managed to get the courage to.

"Yes, you should," she said. Her fingers fisted through my hair again.

"Why?" I somehow managed to ask. My voice was soft and shaky, mainly because I was sure something bad was going to happen.

"You killed my family… You orphaned a young boy… You befriended him… You pretended you were innocent," she hissed, her grip tightening on my hair to the point that I wondered how my hair was still attached to my scalp. "You made me thank you."

 _Oh… Her._

The pain eased a little as he pushed my head downwards. But the relief from this pain was only short-lived as I felt my face hit the water. My body was pulled forward, till it was partially submerged as well. The water was too cold. My entire body was starting to freeze up. But even so, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was my face being completely submerged in the water, at the hands of a woman I did indeed know, although I hadn't met her face-to-face before.

The first thing I did was to scream instinctively and immediately, whatever air I had in my mouth and lungs escaped as the water entered. I tried to push myself up, only for her to push me back down. My head was tilted forward till my forehead was pressed against the bottom of the tub. My arms were behind my back and I couldn't use them at all, not even to push myself upwards. All I did was scream, even though it was the worst thing to do in that situation.

 _Help me._

Water was entering my mouth and nose, clogging up my breathing pathways. My lungs were hurting from the lack of air. My throat and nose was hurting from the water that was in them. My entire body was thrashing about on it's own. I had no control.

And just as I thought I was going to die, I was pulled upwards. I heaved a huge breath of oxygen the moment my face broke out of the water.

"You need to be taught a lesson," she snapped, tugging my hair harder. I wanted to scream in pain but my body was too preoccupied with trying to resupply oxygen into my bloodstream.

Before I could do anything else, I was pushed downwards into the water again. I screamed again, obviously not learning anything much from the previous incident.

 _Can't breathe... I'm going to die._

Again, she lifted me up.

"A monster like you should just die!" she screamed. "Die. Die. Die. Burn in hell."

She punctuated her words by pushing me into the water and pulling me out again. I still couldn't breathe. I was still choking. My head was pounding. My chest felt like it was being squeezed. I was coughing and spluttering continuously, be it inside or outside of the water.

"Scum! Trash! Monster! Demon!" She continued with her screaming and her pushing. "You're disgusting. You're despicable. You have no right to live. You have no right to exist. Why? Why do you even exist?"

 _Scum… Trash… Monster… She's… right… isn't she?_

There was so much emotion in her voice but I couldn't be bothered to ponder much over it. Instead, I pondered over her words. Everything she said was true after all. In the first place, weren't all those things what I really was? In that case, just why was I existing? What was my purpose in life? I was made to kill the Powerpuff Girls but since I gave up on that, why did I go on living?

 _My life has no meaning…_

My body started to grow weaker from the lack of oxygen. It wasn't really hurting me much anymore. My head was starting to spin and I could feel myself start to lose consciousness.

 _I don't want to die but… what am I even living for?_

I wasn't struggling much anymore. My throat and nose were burning but they weren't hurting. Everything seemed all tingly.

 _Heh… Hahaha… No one's going to help me… Why do I bother? Why don't I want to die?_

I was pathetic. I couldn't help but wonder about why I was alive, arriving at no answer at all. But at the same time, I didn't want to die. I was too scared of death. What awaited me in death anyway? Never-ending darkness? An eternity of non-existence? Oblivion? Even if there were a Heaven and a Hell (and I do believe there are such things, considering that HIM, a demon, exists), my place would be in Hell. My soul would be damned to an eternity of suffering and torture. What was there to look forward in death? It wouldn't free me from my living pains. It would make everything worse, wouldn't it?

 _I might as well just die right here… This is... the only place I can be in..._

The woman pulled me upwards by my hair. I immediately tried to breathe, which was initially really hard from the water clogging my airways. My nose wasn't much of a help. I opened my mouth wide and gasped, trying my best to get oxygen into my suffering lungs. I could feel water trailing out of my mouth and nose as I started to regain a steady breathing rhythm. She tugged me backwards and released me. I collapsed against the end of the tub, my arms caught between the cold side of the tub and my body. I realized that my wrists were aching, mainly since the twine was digging into my skin and cutting it slightly. With every struggle, my skin tore more. I must have hurt myself a lot when I was struggling in the water. My legs were cramped up and I couldn't bring myself to move them. I wanted to get up but I couldn't find the strength to. My mind was sleeping and all I could feel was exhaustion. The pain wasn't bothering me much anymore.

 _Maybe… if I just sleep…_

If my eyes weren't already closed, I would have closed my eyes. I had no idea whether my eyes were open or closed for most of the time. Everything was too dark for me to sense any difference. My body felt numb and heavy, with a slight pain here and there. It was so cold. My body was shivering slightly and my teeth were almost chattering. I wanted to be back in my room. Even if it was dark, lonely and frightening, at least I had a blanket. I was so cold and tired that I just wanted to go back.

Even if I wanted to sleep, the woman didn't let me. Her hands were on my face again and she pulled me to lean forward. I could feel her breath on me so I knew her face was close to me as well. I could feel her moving closer to me, fingers stroking my damp skin.

I wanted to tell her to stop but I didn't have the strength to. All I could do was fidget awkwardly and grimace as she held me.

Her hand moved down my body and her fingers hooked onto the waistband of my pants. I squirmed slightly as her hand moved further down, this time, into my pants. She was headed right to the area between my legs— to the last place I wanted anyone who's not Blosson to touch.

And it wasn't long till I felt her hand on me and I let out a whimper.

 _Don't. Don't. Don't._

"You're a disgusting creature that I absolutely detest," she said and her fingers wound around me, grabbing me till it was starting to hurt. My breathing started quickening and deepening as well, as if I was thrown back into the water again. "I want to hurt you so much… Nothing… Nothing that has been done to you can make up for what you've made me and Dylan go through."

 _Shut up. Don't touch me._

"The next stage of our test is very simple. We're going to test your regenerative abilities," she said. "To be more specific, we want to find out if you are capable of regenerating an entire body part if… let's say… it got cut off."

 _No…_

"The plan is to cut off a part of your body, chain you up really securely and then feed you some Chemical X till you're at full strength," she replied.

 _Stop!_

"For the scum you are, what better place to try this on, other than your precious jewels?" she laughed. She squeezed me hard and twisted me, making me scream at the top of my lungs from the pain, fear and worry that was clouding my mind.

 _Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop._

It was hurting even as she tugged and twisted me. It was going to hurt a lot more when she cuts it off.

 _It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts._

And then, everything ended.

* * *

 _I'm not going to say much today because I'm really sleepy and also kinda sick. Ahahah. I think this story should come to an end by chapter 20... or maybe 19... so yeah, it'll be ending really soon. I have part of the next few chapters written already..._

 _I was considering a sequel for this but I couldn't really think of any other plot I could manage to write for this story... I do have two plans for other stories though but I don't know which one I should start at the end..._

 _1) The girls are no longer needed as superheroes but to uncover this big controversy going on, they end up having to rely on their powers again while they team up with Brick, who's only desire is to avenge the death of his brothers._

 _2) The girls are defeated by an alliance of all the villains, resulting in Townsville being taken over by evil. The boys end up trying to find a new reason to live now that their goal has been achieved, only to find out something about the girls and the other villains which ends up making them question the side they're on._

 _The summaries sound like shit because I can't think properly but they're something like that. I'll be going to sleep now so goodnight everyone. Thank you for all your support and do continued favoriting, following and reviewing!_


	16. Chapter 16

At the scream, Butch fired the gun he was holding, blowing a huge hole right through the door. Inside, was a bathroom. Clarissa and Brick were both in there. At the sound of Butch's gun, she turned herself away from Brick. She was holding a scalpel in one of her hands. Behind her, in the tub, Brick was seated, bent over, breathing hard and trembling.

"You bitch!" Butch yelled, flying straight to Clarissa and swinging a punch direct to her face. At his voice, I saw Brick's head snap up.

I rushed over to Brick and immediately threw my arms around him. Kneeling in the tub, Brick was drenched in ice-cold water and as I pulled him close to me, I could tell that his trembling wasn't just from fear and pain, but also from the cold. I pulled him closer to my body, wrapping my arms tighter around him. My chin rested on the top of his head. His face was nestled into the curve of my neck. I could feel his warm breath, as shaky as it might be. Holding him tightly, I lifted him up, helping him to climb out of the tub. Even with his clothes all drenched and soaked, Brick was much lighter than I had expected him to be. As I pulled him close to me, now out of the tub, I realized that he had lost quite a lot of weight since the time he was caught. Pressing my hands against his body, I could feel his bones easily. Had they been feeding him properly? Did they even feed him?

"I'm here now… I'm here now," I whispered, trying my best to soothe him and calm him down. I looked over, noticing his arms tied behind him. As I continued whispering random words of comfort to him, I reached over to undo the twine around his wrists. His wrists were cut and bleeding and I tried my best to avoid the wounds. Once they were freed, his arms fell limply to his side, and it was as if he couldn't find the strength to move them.

"I… I'm sorry…" he whispered. His voice was weaker than I had ever heard before. It was raspy, exhausted and soft, to the point that he didn't even sound like himself anymore. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I didn't know what exactly he was sorry over. I looked over at Butch, who was standing beside me awkwardly, his face twisted into an expression I had never seen before. Our eyes met and I nodded towards the scalpel that was lying beside the now unconscious Clarissa. As Butch picked it up, I pulled away slightly from Brick to turn him around in my hold so that his back was then pressed to my front. I wrapped my arms around his torso, lightly rubbing his sides.

"Trust me on this, okay?" I whispered to him. He didn't reply in words but he nodded.

Butch walked over with the scalpel and he knelt down in front of Brick. He looked over at me questioningly.

"Butch, I need you to cut the stitches," I instructed and Butch nodded, inching . I felt Brick stiffen in my arms and I tightened my hold around him, pressing our bodies closer together. "Just trust us, Brick. We won't hurt you."

"Gimme a minute, bro…" Butch murmured. "Don't move. I don't want to hurt you."

I could feel a shiver run through Brick but he tried to stay as still as possible as Butch cut the stitches that were holding the blindfold and his skin together. I could tell that Butch was trying his best not to hurt Brick but even then, Brick's temples were starting to bleed and that wasn't helping Butch calm himself down. It took a longer time that I had anticipated for Brick's blindfold to be taken off.

Eventually, Butch pulled it off and tossed it aside. I released him and moved in front of him. Brick was trying to open his eyes but every time he opened them slightly, he shut them immediately. Brick raised his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them hard, as Butch and I watched him silently. We were wasting time. We were risking our lives further. But both of us just stood and stared at him, barely able to move.

Because Brick was right in front of us, alive and not pushing us away.

Between his fingers, I could see him opening and closing his eyes, blinking them too rapidly for him to see anything. But as time passed, the blinks slowed and he dropped his hands from his face. His eyes met Butch's for a moment before they darted to mine and then to the ground. His face was expressionless. He was entirely silent. He fidgeted slightly, looking further down, till his wet hair hung over his face like a curtain.

"Brick?" Butch called out softly, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. Brick's body shuddered and I heard a soft sniff coming from him. Butch reached over to push the wet clumps of hair away from Brick's face. "Brick, look at us."

He did, slowly. Even though his face was wet, it was easy to tell that he was crying and that certain droplets of water on his face were actually his tears. Butch smiled weakly and he pulled Brick towards him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," Brick whispered and once again, I wondered what he was apologizing for. There were so many things that I could come up with but I had no idea which one it actually was.

"Hey, hey," Butch said, pushing Brick backwards slightly to look at him. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about, okay? Nothing."

I didn't agree but I didn't say anything either, my eyes fixed on the both of them as I remained silent. Just like my sisters and I, the boys were all roughly around the same size as well. But as Butch was holding Brick, I couldn't help but notice just how small Brick seemed to look in comparison to Butch. I could tell it had nothing to do with the fact that Butch was all muscles while Brick was almost just skin and bones. It seemed more from the way Brick was hunching over and how he seemed to be curling himself up.

It wasn't the size difference between Brick and Butch that bothered me much, honestly. What really bothered me was how Brick seemed so small when I compared him to his previous self and I wasn't even referring to the period before the treaty. In just a matter of a week or two, how could he have deteriorated so much?

"You know, Bloss, that's really sweet and all but we really should leave," Buttercup sighed through the earpiece. My eyes met Butch's again and he nodded, getting up and pulling Brick up to his feet as well. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the vial I had brought along, passing it to Brick.

"It's Chemical X. Drink it," I said and Brick did as I told him to, without any questions. He dropped the vial on the floor and it rolled forwards, towards Clarissa's body. His eyes followed it, eventually landing on Clarissa's now unconscious body. She lay face-down on the floor but even without seeing her face, Brick grimaced slightly.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Butch murmured, taking Brick by the hand and pulling him towards the door.

"Yeah," I agreed softly, moving away from her body as well. "Let's go."

I followed behind Butch and Brick, running towards our planned exit route. I could hear Buttercup, Boomer and Bubbles through the earpiece and it sounded like they were leaving as well.

"It might be tough but try to keep up, okay?" Butch said to Brick. Brick offered him a really weak smile and nodded.

We headed straight ahead till we saw Boomer, Bubbles and Buttercup. Upon noticing us, Boomer rushed towards us, right at Brick. I had no idea what Boomer was going to do but he did the last thing I thought he would ever think of doing at a time like that. He slapped Brick hard across his face. But before Brick could even react, Boomer had pulled him into a hug.

"Idiot… You fucking idiot…" Boomer snapped. He sounded annoyed but I could see him smiling widely. "I was… so worried…"

"All of you…" Brick murmured, "came for me…"

"We couldn't leave you after what we've heard!" Boomer insisted. "We should have come sooner. I'm so sorry Brick. I didn't know they would do this. I thought that if they arrested you, they'll at least be put in a prison and you would be safe there… I didn't expect this."

Boomer pushed Brick away from him and cupped Brick's face with his hands. We were running out of time and we needed to rush out as fast as we could. But as I watched Boomer watch his brother with streaming eyes, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt.

"You came for me," Brick said again, his eyes widening, "even though I'm like this…"

"Like what?" Boomer asked.

Brick ignored Boomer's words, shaking his head. He pushed Boomer away and took a few steps back. His eyes went from one of us to another. His breathing hitched and he took a few more steps backwards. Boomer walked towards him, reaching out towards his arm, only for Brick to violently push it away with a soft growl.

"I… have killed people…" Brick said. "I've killed innocent people. I killed Dylan's family. I killed Mitch and the rest… The park… All of it… I did all that…"

"We know that," Boomer snapped.

"Do you?" Brick asked, glaring at Boomer. "Do you know… what that means?"

"We don't have time for this," Buttercup cut in. "We need to go before they find us!"

"No! NO! I can't leave!" Brick yelled, grabbing his head and shaking it. "She's right… she's right…"

"What?" Boomer asked, moving forward and grabbing Brick's arms. He wrenched Brick's hands off his head and tugged on Brick, making him look up at him. Brick's eyes were wide, full of fear and confusion. Boomer shook him slightly. "What are you talking about? Who's right?"

"We don't have time for this!" Buttercup repeated, stepping towards them. "Look here, Brick, everyone's risking their lives here for you so you better appreciate this."

Brick's eyes went wider and he pulled his arms roughly away from Boomer. "Why? Why why?" he cried out. "I can't leave this place… I can't control it. I'll… I'll—"

He couldn't finish because we were interrupted by clickings noises. So focused on Brick, none of us noticed that there were people around us. When we looked around afterwards, we realized that we were surrounded and that everyone had guns pointed at us.

"Oh fuck," Butch cursed. He grabbed his gun but as he did, he took a few steps back. My hand flew to the back of my pants, where I had kept my pistol at the waistband of my pants. But even then, it was obvious that we were too outnumbered.

"Goddammit. This is why we had to leave fast," Buttercup hissed.

The six of us were practically cornered by them and all we could do was back away towards the wall. From the number of people around, it wouldn't be hard escaping with our abilities. The only problem was the fact that all of them were dressed in armours that were made to withstand our abilities probably.

"Blossom, now what?" Boomer asked. "Do we attack?"

"No! We can't hurt these people. They're just doing their job!" Bubbles insisted. "We can't kill them."

"We can't," I agreed. "But if we don't do something, we'll all be caught."

We continued backing up, until I felt myself run into the person behind me.

"Surrender silently or we'll shoot!" someone in the crowd of guards said.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Buttercup groaned.

"Hurry up!" someone else yelled. "Put down your weapons."

"I told you… not to come back…" I heard Brick whisper into my ear and I realized that he was the one standing right behind me. I could feel him holding onto the edge of my shirt lightly. "Why did you come back?"

This wasn't the time to be pondering and regretting my actions. But even as I tried to think of possible options for escape, all I was faced with was the undeniable truth that we were hopelessly cornered. There was no doubt that if we fired, they would kill, or at least hurt, us all.

"Put your weapons down, guys," I instructed.

"Are you fucked up in your head? They'd turn us into Brick!" Buttercup yelled. She held her gun tighter, pointing it from one person to another.

"Just leave it be… Someone will be bound to notice that we're gone. They can't hurt us too much," I said. While I knew that that was true when my sisters and I were concerned, there was no way they were leaving the boys alone.

"Fine…" Buttercup muttered, dropping her weapon on the ground. Following her, the rest did as well. I glanced around before I released mine as well and the moment it hit the ground, a few men lunged at us, grabbing us and pulling us apart from one another. I tried to struggle, to put up a fight, but their armours were far too strong. They still had their weapons pointed as us and it was obvious that we had lost. I glanced at Brick, hoping to look apologetic, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were down and his fists were clenched.

I didn't want him to blame himself for what was happening. He was already shouldering too much misery.

"See, Brick, what have I been telling you?" Clarissa's voice caught me completely by surprise and I turned towards it to see her standing behind the group of men. She had a black eye from Butch's punch and a bruise on her forehead for probably hitting it against something when she fell but her eyes and smirk only spoke of victory.

I looked over at Brick and saw him shake his head. "Shut up…" he whispered.

"You bring nothing but destruction and misfortune to those around you," she said coolly, crossing her arms.

"I said shut up!" he yelled, looking up. His eyes were red, but not the normal kind of red. They were glowing red. A few moments after, the building began to shake.

There it was. The power we had heard so much about yet never experienced. Brick was a destructive person ever since he was born. But it was only here, I fully understood what it meant to destroy something.

* * *

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes for the first time in so long was the face of my younger brother, with an expression I had never seen before on his face. It looked like a mix of relief, joy, worry, fear and anger, though I know not all of them were directed at me.

The first time Butch ever hugged me was after he hadn't seen me for weeks and when he finally did, I was in the worst state possible for me to be in. Butch was warmer than I thought he would be, or maybe he just seemed warm because the air-conditioning was turned on and I had just been submerged in ice-cold water. But I knew for sure that I was a lot smaller than him and as he hugged me, it was like me being enveloped by him.

It wasn't a bad thing. It felt nice.

But do you know what didn't feel nice? When I was standing helplessly, watching my brothers and the girls struggle against the people who were going to capture them and do the same things they did on me to them. There was no reason for them to be there at all. They had no obligation to help me. I was where I was because I deserved it. I was going through pain and suffering because I was wrong.

They were only trying to help me.

How could I just stand there and watch them suffer? No one deserves to die for someone like me. No one should ever suffer while trying to protect me.

I hated myself. I hated the place. I hated the guards. I hated the woman.

I didn't want to kill anyone but since when did that matter? All I had to do was think and think I did. The thoughts popped in my head even before I realized it. The next thing I knew, the building was already shaking and tremors were running through the ground.

"What the fuck is going on here?" someone yelled.

"What the?"

"Hey!"

Amidst the screams and yells, I looked around and my eyes locked on Dylan's aunt's eyes. She narrowed them at me and started to walk towards me. But the guards around were really starting to panic and they were moving about much too much for her to come to me easily. But her eyes were still on me and I knew what she was thinking.

 **It's all your fault, Brick. All your fault…**

I was hearing her voice just like I used to hear HIM's. Her mouth curved into a wicked smile.

 **You can't run away, Brick. You can't. You'll forever have to live with all this.**

Was that what I wanted?

 _Please, stop this…_

Her gaze was so intense that it felt like she was right beside me. I wanted to step away, to turn away and to simply just pull away from her but it felt so restricting and hypnotic. I couldn't move. I couldn't run. I couldn't speak. The woman was so far away from me, yet I could feel her touch all over me, the gentle ones and the rough ones both.

 _I'm never going to be free of this._

As I watched her approach, I felt my hand being grabbed and I snapped out of my trance. In the chaos and confusion, my brothers and the girls had managed to shake off those who were holding onto them. I hadn't noticed. How could I have? I was too busy looking elsewhere.

But as I watched her, I noticed something— a sudden change in her eyes. Her eyes, initially determined and mocking, suddenly lost their light, with no particular reason that obeyed the laws of logic. The woman stopped and bent forward, picking up a gun that had been discarded by someone. Then, she brought it up to her temples. This woman, who had an orphaned nephew— the only family she had and the only reason she had to live— waiting for her at home, placed her finger on the trigger and without a single second of hesitation, pulled it.

I found myself slipping into another trance, this time a much different kind, as my sight turned scarlet. Crimson liquid and mush splattered everywhere. The gun fell onto the ground with a loud thud and the woman— at least, whatever remained of her— fell after it, with a much softer thud.

Somewhere out there, somebody just lost the last member of his family, at the hands of the same person who killed the rest of his family.

"We have to go! Come on!"

Someone was screaming. I think it was Blossom. She had grabbed my arm and was pulling me towards the exit. I looked away from the woman and let them lead me off. We were running towards the exit. We could have flown but I didn't know why we didn't. But I was thankful that we weren't flying, though. Just running itself was making my head spin and my stomach churn.

Even though I just killed people, my head was blank.

 **You've grown accustomed to killing, haven't you?**

The voice that I had all along thought was HIM now sounded a lot like the woman.

When we reached outside, I turned around slightly. It felt like something was calling me and that something was pulling me. I couldn't leave the place. If I did, something bad would happen… would it? Everything seemed hazy. People were running around. People were being thrown about. People were falling. The building was crumbling. The wall outside was crumbling. The glass above was crumbling.

To anyone else, that wouldn't make sense at all, would it? Why did this building suddenly start to collapse? Why did the people in it suddenly start to kill each other? Why was a woman who was so hell bent on obtaining her vengeance and ensuring her family's survival kill herself without achieving any of this?

I guess nothing obeyed logic in my life. For instance, why were Blossom, her sisters and my brothers even rescuing a person like me?

With everyone else too distracted with killing each other, we managed to escape the place rather easily. Once quite a distance away, we stopped to catch our breaths. My head was pounding maniacally. I found myself dropping to my knees and grabbing it. The headache should be bothering me but I felt strangely relaxed. I looked up and turned towards the facility.

Everything was falling. I couldn't see anyone there, just a lot of red.

 **Again… You killed again… Just like with the park, just like in the alley.**

She was dead, wasn't she? Why was she talking to me?

 **You are a monster after all.**

 _I know._

 **Did you?**

 _I…_

 **A monster like you shouldn't even exist. You should die. You should have stayed. What's the use of protecting them at the expense of hundreds of people's lives?**

My headache was starting to bother me and she was laughing.

"Jesus. What the fuck just happened?" someone asked. I think it was Buttercup.

My vision was starting to blur.

"Those people… Are they… dead?" I think Bubbles spoke. I don't know for sure.

My stomach was churning till it was hurting. I doubled over.

"Brick?"

 _Blossom…_

I couldn't hold it in. My body convulsed and I found myself throwing up. My mouth ended up with the bitter taste of the warm liquid that just left my body. My sight was blurring further. I could feel my body sway slightly. She was laughing.

And then… And then…

I don't know… I think everything went black.

* * *

 _I realize I have so many errors in my writing and it's really pissing me off. No matter how many times I read through my drafts, I never pick out stuff until after I've uploaded everything. MAYBE I SHOULD HIRE A PROOFREADER. HAHAHA. Any volunteers? You'll get paid... by pay, I mean I'll write stuff for you. :')_

 _Nah, just kidding. I'll probably edit everything once the story ends, before I upload the rest of it onto AO3._

 _Thank you everyone for your support! I know the recent chapters have been rather long but this one is kinda short when I compared them. Now that Brick's rescue is over, I'll be shifting back to merely Brick's perspective from next chapter onwards. Only like... what? 4 chapters left to go? Aw man, I'm gonna miss this story._


	17. Chapter 17: Part 3

**Starting from this chapter, I'm going back to a 100% Brick POV, with the exception of the final chapter but that will be a little later.**

* * *

I only noticed the big red door when it opened. A woman walked in and I immediately knew that it was her. I watched myself watch her and on my face, there seemed to be no fear. In my eyes, I recognized a hungry look.

I wanted her. Why did I want her?

She was wearing a tight, long scarlet dress that had a long slit along the side of her one of her legs. I had seen girls in such dresses before but none of them had slits that high. It was almost, but barely, reaching the junction between her legs. I turned my attention back to myself and I realized that I was wearing a dress shirt and blank pants. Since when did I even dress like this?

I tried to reach out or to say something but I couldn't. I looked down at myself but I could see nothing. It was like I didn't exist, though my physical form was sitting on the bed in front of me.

I knew it was just a dream. Everything was too surreal. But even in my dreams, I wasn't spared of my emotions and thoughts.

I watched her climb onto me. I watched myself smirk as she wrapped her arms around me, running her lips along the side of my neck. I hadn't noticed till then but she was holding some kind of knife or maybe, the knife had only just appeared. She pulled back from me and held the knife forward, pulling it down to slice my shirt open.

The me on the bed wasn't the me from the recent year. He was me from back then, with no scars on his body but those from battles and with a well-built, muscled torso. That explained the predatory gleam in my eyes. No wonder people found me scary. I was. My bright red eyes looked like they were that of a demon's, especially when I had such a look in them.

The woman's hands were running all over my body. Her skin was much paler in comparison to my tanned one. Her crimson nails stood out from her white skin and I couldn't help but stare at them as they trailed along my body. I could almost feel her nails running down my skin.

No… I could feel them… and they felt good.

I could feel her kissing me, biting me and touching me. I could feel the clothes slide of my body and I could feel myself pulling her clothes off as well.

Why was this even happening? I couldn't understand everything.

And when we went at it, I could feel myself in her and I knew I was enjoying it. Even when she pressed the blade against my skin, splitting the skin and drawing blood, I was moaning in ecstasy. Even when she leaned forward and licked at my blood, I was still so turned on.

The me on the bed was enjoying all of this. The me watching could feel everything he felt, but at the same time, hating it.

 _Stop stop._

I wanted it to stop but I was asking her for more.

 **What kind of a fantasy is this?**

She hadn't opened her mouth but I could hear her voice.

 **You're getting hard because of me. That's hilarious. I'm like… what? 15 years older than you? And I am the woman who has been torturing you, aren't I? The source of all your pain lately? And you're getting hard from me?**

 _No… Yes…_

 **Want me to go further? Want more?**

 _No… No? I…_

The me on the bed was saying yes. But she didn't move faster like I thought she would. She lifted the knife and pressed it against my throat, horizontally. My eyes gleamed in a hunger I never knew I had before. I was staring at her mockingly, challengingly. I was practically daring her to try.

And try she did. As the knife sliced open my throat, my mouth curved up into a smirk.

 _That's it… Good…_

I ended up waking with a sudden start. I didn't jump up or anything. My eyes just flew open. I was greeted with a red ceiling. I immediately looked around and I realized that the walls were still red. They weren't the dark shade from earlier on. This time, it was rather bright. But since the room I was in was completely dark, it somewhat resembled that earlier red.

It took me a little while to recognize the room as my own room. Once I did, I relaxed for a moment. Yes, only a moment. Because only after I moved myself did I recall what had been happening. My limbs were heavy and even though it didn't hurt much when I moved them, it felt like I lacked the strength to do so. It took me much effort to sit up and when I did, my head began to spin. Closing my eyes tightly managed to ease the annoying feeling slightly but in the end, I gave up and leaned against the back of my bed frame.

Everything was finally over, right?

I looked around my room and it felt that it had been too long since I was last there. At a glance, it seemed like nothing was out of its place but after some observing, it dawned on me that someone had been looking through my things. For instance, the pile of books in the corner had been rearranged. The book right at the top was one I had read a few months ago. Rightfully, it should have been placed in the bottom.

I heard the doorknob turn and I turned my attention to the door. There was something about the slow manner in which the door was being opened that reminded me of my dream. It made me recall the seductive and exaggerated movements of the woman as she moved in my dream. I could feel my heart race (out of what, I didn't know) and I found myself scrambling backwards, pressing myself hard against the back of my bed frame.

 **Are you afraid that I'm going to do something to you?**

The woman's voice in my head was snickering at me.

"Shut up… Shut up!" I growled at her voice, trying to crawl away, but of course, how could I go back any further? I thought of running away but my body just wouldn't move. I didn't want to experience anything like what happened in my dream but was that just my mind talking?

 _No no no. No sex. No gore. No murder. Just let me go._ _Let me go. Let me go._

The door opened and I stared at it, my body stilling as the futility of my actions dawned on me. It seemed like time slowed down at this moment. The door was pushed open slowly, with a slender, white hand on the doorknob. There was a figure standing outside. I could see her shadow. It was going to happen. Everything was going to happen.

I was trembling so much that I could practically see my hands shaking.

When I saw the face of the person at the door, the relief that washed over me can never be explained by my words.

"Brick! Are you okay?" Blossom gasped, running towards me.

"I… I'm fine… It's just that…" I shook my head and Blossom chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry… I was supposed to be keeping an eye on you but I went out to get some coffee," Blossom said.

"Keeping an eye on me?"

"As precaution."

"Precaution?" I repeated plainly.

"You know, you kinda killed some more people, Brick," Blossom said.

 **She's right, you know.**

"If that was the case, shouldn't you just blindfold me?" I asked bitterly.

Blossom sat by my side, reaching over and lightly stroking my left temple. It stung quite a lot and I took her hand, pulling it away from my head.

"I didn't want to blindfold you after you've been in darkness for so long," she replied. It made sense and I was a little tired so I didn't bother arguing. I nodded and leaned my head against the bed frame, closing my eyes slightly and rubbing my head. Blossom climbed over and sat beside me, her arm pressed against mine. We sat in silence for a while until she spoke up again. "I want you to tell me everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything. I mean it, Brick. I don't want you to hide anything this time," she said.

"You don't want to know everything," I replied. I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I had sat in that position a lot back in the facility and maybe, it was becoming a habit.

"I do, actually," she said frankly.

She had no idea what awaited her if she decided to listen to my story. Was it okay? Would she accept it? Everything that I went through and experienced, everything that I did and everything that I witnessed were all things that were really hard to talk about, even to the closest of people. It really was easy for her to ask me about them but it was much harder for me to actually say it.

"What do you want to know? Where do I start?" My voice cracked as I spoke. I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to relive everything again.

"When did you get that ability?" she asked.

"On the day you came over to our place," I said and then, trying to sound like I wasn't bothered by it, I quickly related everything to her. Mitch coming over, me leaving to see Mojo and HIM, the conversation I had with them, the incident with the park, saving Dylan, my sudden happiness at the possibility of being great again, how I started losing interest in that soon enough as well, the alley, the dream with HIM asking me to kill her, me trying to kill her— I told her about everything that happened before I was caught.

"Well, if you put it that way, it really is a difficult ability to manage… especially if you're…" she trailed off, looking at me partially worried.

"Especially if you're a wreck like me?" I suggested. I could hear the chuckle in my voice but it meant nothing and Blossom knew that. If anything, all there was was bitterness.

Complete bitterness at the pathetic situation I was in.

"You're not a wreck or anything… Whatever you are, it can be fixed," Blossom replied. I didn't know for sure so I just shrugged. It was too tiring to argue with her over my condition, especially since I knew that Blossom was right. She inched closer to me and leaned against my shoulder. "So you say you used to hear HIM's voice in your head…"

"I hear her now," I said and in my mind, I could hear her laughing.

"Who?"

"The woman from that place… Dylan's aunt…"

Blossom sat up and stared at me with wide eyes. "Clarissa?"

"I don't know her name… All I know is that she did a lot of things to me and now I hear her voice in my head even though she's dead… and the dream…" I rambled on without really thinking much.

"Dream? What dream?"

I was too tired to argue and hide anything. Now that I had let it slip, I just went on and explained everything. Blossom watched me with a really confused expression on her face, which was also trying its best to hide her unhappiness.

"So… you dreamt that you did it with her," she said flatly.

"No… I mean, yes, it was me on the bed but it wasn't _me_ ," I said quickly. I didn't know why but I suddenly felt the urge to explain and justify myself. "It was a really strange dream. I was enjoying it yet I was hating it… And when she tried to kill me, it was like… the best part about it… I wanted it."

"You wanted her to kill you?" Blossom asked. "Even though you think the person on the bed was the old you?"

It was obvious that Blossom was confused and to be honest, so was I. I didn't understand the dream, nor the reason why I could hear her speaking to me even though I saw her die right in front of my eyes.

"The me on the bed… scared me," I admitted. "Was I that scary in the past?"

"You've never scared me before," Blossom replied. "It's only recently that you've started scaring me."

"Recently? You mean… because of my new power?" That made sense.

"No… It's not because of your power," she said. That… did not make sense. Blossom took my hand and stared at it for a while. "I'm scared of you… for you… because I'm worried you might hurt yourself again."

 _Oh._

"I won't hurt myself," I said, though it didn't sound convincing at all. "I don't know what got over me back then. It was only once."

"What if it gets over you again?" Blossom asked.

"I know what you're going to say," I said immediately. "You want me to go see some psycho doctor."

"A psychiatrist," Blossom corrected.

 _Same thing._

"I'm not crazy. I'm fine. I don't need help," I said.

 _I'm so dumb._

"If you're not going by yourself, I'm going to make you go," Blossom huffed. "You're ill and if you don't get help, you're only going to get worse. Plus, your brothers approved."

"What about my approval?" I snapped.

"I don't need your approval," she said, sticking out her tongue playfully. It was a joke and I knew it. Even if she had threatened to force me there, I knew she wouldn't act on it. She still wanted my approval.

"Going will make it seem like there's something really wrong with me," I admitted. "I don't want to go. I don't want anyone's help. How can I even trust a random stranger to help me?"

"I know someone who owes me a favour. You can trust her," Blossom said, trying to assure me.

"I can't even trust you, Bloss," I whispered. "How am I supposed to know if she will blabber about me to someone else like you did?"

"Brick, look, about that—"

"Leave it. I know you were only trying to help," I said bitterly. I didn't want to blame her for it but at the same time, the fact that people out there knew about my deepest and most private secrets made me uncomfortable. I knew that most of them were probably dead but that didn't help ease any of my unhappiness.

"I'm sorry I betrayed your trust," Blossom admitted. "I know how hard it is for you to trust people but just give me one more chance, alright? I want… to fix your life."

My life was far too broken for anyone to fix. Even if she tried to pick up the pieces and put them back together, it wouldn't be back to the way it was before. The cracks and blemishes were still there. She wouldn't be able to remove them.

"I can't be bothered anymore," I replied. "It's exhausting. I'm too tired to care about anything anymore."

I said that but the problem with me was that I cared too much. I cared about the way people saw me, about the way people treated me, about the way I looked, about the things I did, about what had happened and about what was going to happen. I didn't want to care, but I did. That was draining. It was just too tiring for me to handle.

 **You're pathetic.**

Plus, I had to deal with the voice of a ghost.

"I'm going to take a shower," I said, getting out of bed and walking over to the bathroom. Blossom didn't reply but she didn't stop me either.

Once I was in the bathroom, I stripped my shirt off me and turned to the mirror again. My mirror was still broken. I hadn't bothered fixing it, nor did anyone else in the past two weeks. There was still enough glass for me to see myself in the mirror and I realized just how much weight had I lost in the period I was captured.

I hadn't thought it was possible for myself to further lose any weight but I did. My body was far too scrawny and it actually terrified me. Initially, what bothered me was the fact that my muscles had faded and that when I touched myself at certain areas, I could feel the bones. But now, I could actually see the outlines of my bones.

"No, no, no," I whispered looking down at myself and running my hand down the side of my chest. The ridges of my ribs were hard and distinct. "No… No…"

I looked back up and started noticing other things. I had bags under my eyes. Even though I thought I spent most of my time there asleep, the bags seemed to prove otherwise. My lips were chapped and cracked. My cheeks were sunken. My hair was stringy and messy. My body was scarred horribly— not like the symmetrical pattern of my old scars. My news scars were hideous. There was nothing artistic about it.

They ruined my canvas.

 **You're beautiful. So, so beautiful.**

"No, I don't—"

 **So weak, so vulnerable, so pathetic. Don't you want someone to just do terrible things to you?**

"No!" I cried out, grabbing my head. I heard a knock on the door. Blossom was calling out for me.

 **Don't you just want someone to touch you and hold you? Just… to make you feel… wanted?**

"I…" I couldn't deny it. Wasn't that why I liked Blossom's company? My head was pounding and hurting again and I let out a groan, digging my fingers into my scalp.

 **What a pity. You should have stayed with me Brick. I could do all sorts of things to you.**

 _You tried to cut my balls off…_

 **I could do a lot of other things to you as well and I'd made sure you love every single moment of it.**

The thought of those hands on me again repulsed me. I shook my head, trying to forget the feel of her hands, the sound of her voice and the images of my dream. I wanted to forget her. I wanted to forget what she had done and said to me. There were so many people in the facility who did things to me. Why did it have to be her?

 **I would have been the best thing that ever happened to you.**

 _I will never enjoy it._

The door was rattling, till I guess Blossom got too worried that she kicked it open. The door slammed backwards against the wall with a loud noise that completely caught my attention and I found myself staring up at Blossom.

 _Huh? When did I even kneel down?_

"Brick, are you okay?" Blossom asked as I slowly got up. I stared at Blossom as she rushed to me. She was saying some other stuff but I didn't pay much attention to her words, even though I was staring at her lips.

"I…"

Her.

Only her.

She was the only one who made me feel wanted. She was the only one who made me feel important. And I wanted to feel that way again. I wanted to be with her again. So I grabbed her by her shoulders and moved closer to her.

 _Be mine. Be mine. Be mine. I want you. Don't leave me…_

"Brick, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I want you," I murmured, pressing my lips against the skin of her neck. "You want me too, right? I'm important, right?"

"Yeah, you are… but." Blossom gasped as I bit her lightly, pulling her closer. "Wait… Why are you suddenly—"

"I want you," I repeated, cutting into her words. I moved myself from her neck to her face, opening my eyes to look at her expression. From the corner of my eye, I could see myself in the mirror with her. I could see my thin, pale arms against her creamy, white skin. My bony, scarred body against her perfect one.

 _Disgusting._

I pulled away from her immediately, taking a few steps back. I kept my eyes on her. Admiring her body was nice but what I really wanted was to stop looking at myself. Blossom's eyes were wide in confusion and she stared at me for a moment with her mouth agape.

"Well, that ended as abruptly as it started," she eventually commented.

"I'm sorry… I can do this in here," I said.

"And why is that?" she asked.

I pointed at the mirror. "It reminds me how ugly I look."

"Ugly?" Blossom wondered aloud.

"Just look at me!" I cried out, throwing my arms to my sides. "I look disgusting. I don't know what they did to me but… it must be bad because I look like crap. I look like the ugliest, unhealthiest and dirtiest motherfucker around."

Blossom smiled weakly and she walked over, grabbing me and turning me around to face the mirror. I grimaced at the sight of myself again and she grinned. "It's nothing that can't be fixed," she said. "Dirty? Get in the shower. Unhealthy? Get on the treadmill. Once those are settled, your looks will come back."

Being forced to look at myself wasn't something I welcomed but I did welcome her words. After all, they were true. Plus, she didn't go down the cliched "No, you're not all that," route I had expected her to go down. I looked at her through the mirror, our eyes meeting.

"Sometimes, I fucking hate you," I chuckled.

Blossom slid into the space between my body and the sink, wrapping her arms around me. "Other times, you just love me."

"Just die," I joked, lifting her up onto the sink so that we were levelled. Our eyes met. "You should really just disappear, you annoying prick."

"Now that sounds more like the Brick I know," she laughed. "Welcome home. You can try and kill me any time. Just like the good old days."

 _Kill…_

I felt my eyes widened at the realization of what I had just done. HIM had said that my ability was controlled by my thoughts. But were they spared from playful ones, controlled by only my genuine emotions and desires, or were jokes taken into consideration as well? What about my words? What if I cursed someone out loud while looking at them?

 _No no._

"Brick? Is everything okay?" Blossom asked, noticing the sudden change in me.

 **Hehehehehehe. You stupid idiot. Look what you did. Good boy. You finally did what I told you to.**

The voice now sounded like HIM and it continued laughing as I stared at Blossom in disbelief.

 _No, please, no. Don't do this. Not her._

 **Come on, Brick. You don't need her. I'm here. I'll make you go through more deliciously enjoyable experiences. Just let her die and we can be together with no interruptions.**

Now it sounded like the woman.

 _I didn't mean to…_

"Brick… say something," Blossom urged, grabbing onto my arms.

"I… I looked at you," I murmured.

 **You monster! You're going to kill her. You're going to kill the girl who cared for you. The one who worked so hard and risked her life for you.**

HIM's voice and the woman's alternated, saying different things one at a time, before finally, they merged into a burst of various voices and echoes.

 **Monster. Monster. Killer. Killer. Murderer. Murderer. Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die.**

"Shut up! Shut up!" I cried out, stepping back and grabbing my head. My ears were ringing from the voices. My head was pounding. My stomach was churning. I wanted everything to end. I just wanted everything to end.

 _Please. Stop stop._

I could vaguely feel hands on me and hear Blossom's voice. She was probably trying to say something, to get my attention. But I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't hear anything. That is, aside from the headache and the voices.

"Stop it. Get out. Get out of my head!" I cried.

It felt like the world around me was moving. It felt like I was going to fall. As I wondered how I was going to bear with this for even a second longer, I suddenly felt myself doused in icy coolness. I opened my eyes and saw Blossom in front of me, looking up at me worried. She was completely drenched.

I was completely drenched.

Somehow, I had ended up in the shower (Bloss pushed me) and Blossom had turned on the shower, dousing me in water to steal my attention from whatever was going on in my head. The voices slowly faded off, but my headache remained.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing onto my shoulder and shaking me lightly. "What happened?"

"They were screaming," I said.

"Who?" Blossom asked, furrowing her brows. "I didn't hear anything."

"But I did. They were talking to me," I replied. "HIM… and her ghost."

Blossom was shaking her head slowly. "Really?"

"Blossom… I…."

"Shut up. You need help and you're going to get help."

I simply stared at her, realizing that she was completely alive and well. Nothing was happening to her. Were my powers defective? Were they gone? Was Blossom immune to it?

"I… It didn't work on you…" I whispered.

Blossom frowned. "What?"

"My powers… It should have killed you," I whispered.

"We gave you some Antidote X while you were asleep," Blossom replied. She moved away from me and sighed, rubbing her head slightly. After a long moment, she looked at me with a solemn expression. "I'm not going to listen to you anymore. Tomorrow, we're going to get you checked out. If I have to drag you there, I will. We'll go to a clinic in the morning to check on your health and after that, you're going to see a psychiatrist."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and nodded. There was no use resisting. Blossom wasn't going to take no for an answer. But in that short moment, I realized how truly dangerous I was, not just to the world, but more importantly, to the people I love.

* * *

 _I don't think it's a good idea to constantly change from a single perspective to dual and then single again but the point of Blossom's was only because if I stuck to merely Brick, the whole rescue operation and what led to it would end up being lost. But in the end, this is a story about Brick. It's his story. So I decided to shift back. Plus, there really isn't much Blossom's perspective can add on to the story at this stage. I rather spend more time and words developing Brick. So I apologize if anyone got annoyed with the shift._

 _Thank you everyone for following this story and constantly leaving reviews and supporting it. This is probably the best thing I've ever written so it really warms my heart seeing all your comments. Red Eyes is my baby :')_

 _I hope I'm not going too far with Brick's character. I would appreciate if you guys would let me know if it starts getting unrealistic! Honestly, I don't know much about the mind so when all of you point out what could possibly be happening to Brick, it's like an eye opener for me and I'm really learning a lot from you guys. But I don't want to go too far with him._

 _This story is coming to an end soon. :( I've more or less written till the second last chapter and I'm going to cry when this ends._

 _Maybe I'll come up with an alternate ending just like I did with How Do You Say No To a Dying Man (check that story out, it's my second favourite PPG fic I've written! It features a really sad Brick as well hehe.)._


	18. Chapter 18

"Is that really all you're going to tell me?"

I scowled at her question and nodded, shoving my hands back into my pockets. The lady in front of me, Stephanie Evans, grinned back, crossing her arms as she sat back into her seat.

"Yes," I snapped.

"So… you hear voices in your head, right?"

"I know what you're going to say. They're not me. HIM and that bitch are really talking to me," I said.

"She's dead, Brick," Evans said.

"So? Do you not believe in ghosts?"

"They don't… convince me."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, if my father is a demon, why can't ghost exists?"

I sounded like a brat. Evans was probably getting annoyed with me but even then, she didn't show any of it on her face. I wonder what kind of favour she owed Blossom till she was willing to help someone as hideous as me.

"Okay," she said, getting up. "That will be all for today's session. I'll be seeing you next Wednesday, right, young man?"

 _Yeah, whatever._

She offered me her hand and I shook it hesitantly before I walked out of the office and back to the elevator, grumbling to myself about being dragged out of my house. Blossom and I had left at eight in the morning, which was way too early for someone like me. She first brought me to a clinic where they ran some tests on me. They took my blood, checked my weight and height and did plenty of other shit which I couldn't be bothered enough to pay attention. They did prescribe me some medicine, though. Blossom made sure that everything was checked. After that, she brought me over there… to get my mind checked. Though, I had to admit, Evans was a lot nicer and friendlier than I had expected her to be, which was kinda strange because I don't know what made me think that psychiatrists were stern and unwelcoming in the first place. Maybe it was because I thought they had to deal with loonies and psychos and if I had to meet up with ten people who weren't right in the head one after another, I'd definitely not be smiling.

Honestly speaking, I really didn't want to get anything checked. Going to the clinic and being told that I was severely underweight wasn't something great to start the day with. Neither was going to see a doctor who specialized in dealing with crazy people. But after what happened in the bathroom, Blossom made sure that I was checked out.

Speaking of the devil, when I reached the lobby, I saw her sitting in a corner, reading a book. I walked over to her and sat down beside her. Blossom closed the book and turned to me, keeping the book back into her purse.

"Well, so how was it?" Blossom asked.

I shrugged. "Probably a waste of time. I don't feel any different. I told you, I'm fine."

"You and I both know that you're not. What's the point of denying it, Brick?" she sighed.

She was right. I knew she was right. But acknowledging my problem and accepting the fact that I had a problem were two very different things although they appeared to be the same. After everything that happened, I just wanted a little control over my life. But accepting my 'illness' and turning to someone for help felt like I was handing over that little control to someone else. For now, that control was in Blossom's hands.

"We're going to my house for a while," Blossom said.

"Why?"

Blossom grinned as she got up. "We'll see."

I didn't really have a choice so I got up as well and followed behind her. We left the building and I immediately started regretting, for like the fifteen thousandth time, leaving home that morning. The sun was scorching and I was practically burning under the long-sleeved t-shirt I was wearing. I could have worn something less stuffy but the thought of showing off my bony arms didn't really appeal to me.

"I hope you have an air conditioner in your home," I grumbled.

"We do. It might not be turned on though," Blossom said.

"It's like a hundred degrees. You girls are insane."

Blossom glanced at me with a slight smirk. "Says the one who just visited a psychiatrist."

"Look, you made me go there," I insisted and Blossom laughed slightly.

We headed over to Blossom's home but it seemed like everyone was out. I followed her quietly as she led me through the house and down into Professor Utonium's lab. Blossom headed over to a closet and took out a flask filled with red liquid. She placed it on a desk and turned to me, crossing her arms.

"I… want you to drink this," she said.

"What's that?" I asked, instantly curious mainly from her sudden change in demeanour.

"It's Antidote X," Blossom replied. "It's different from the one you've been taking… It's permanent."

"Permanent?" I wondered. "I'd lose my powers forever."

"Yeah. I thought it would be better… and safer," she said.

"You think I can't control my powers," I murmured bitterly.

"I know you can't," Blossom snapped. "If you lose control of your thoughts just once, it's enough to destroy the world… That's kinda a dangerous power to give someone as unstable as you."

"I won't…" I trailed off because Blossom was giving me a knowing look and I knew that she had a point. Though, I do have to admit she was a little too harsh.

Blossom's eyes softened a little. "Also, if you're no longer a threat, we don't have to worry about anyone coming after you."

"So there are people after me because of the prison break stunt you pulled," I sighed. Although Blossom had denied it when I asked her after waking up, I knew that it was impossible that we were being let off scot-free.

"Yeah, they're after your brothers too," she said.

"But—"

"Don't worry," she cut in. "I've settled that. Your brothers are safe."

She wasn't really giving me time to think much. "What… How?"

"They took it. They drank the antidote," Blossom replied.

"Boomer and Butch took this?" I asked as Blossom went over and pulled out a vial from the drawer. She filled it with the antidote and held it out towards me.

"Take it."

"No, wait," I insisted, pushing her hand away slightly. "It's forever… I don't know about this… I mean, my powers… I don't want to lose them."

"Take this and you'll become normal, Brick. There will be nothing for people to fear and there will be no reason for anyone to come after you. You'll be safe," she said. "I can't always protect you. This is the best way I can."

"With my powers, I can protect myself!" I cried out. Blossom scowled and I knew what she was thinking.

I couldn't protect myself. I couldn't protect anyone. That was how I ended up in that position in the first place.

"Please, Brick, do this or we may end up as enemies again one day," Blossom whispered. She placed the vial down on the table and walked over to me, taking my face in her hands. "Do you want that to happen?"

"No," I replied.

"Drink it, Brick… Please," she said again. She was staring right in my eyes and I realized that after all that she had done for me, I had never done anything for her. While I knew that nothing I could do would ever fully repay her, this was the least I could do to make her happy.

Even if I couldn't make myself happy, I could make her happy and seeing Blossom smile was something that made me smile much more than anything else ever did.

"Alright," I murmured. I reached over and took the vial, staring at the liquid for a while. I glanced at Blossom, who smiled reassuringly, before I chugged it entirely down. It was bitter and disgusting but that aside, what really felt wrong was the fact that I knew that my powers were gone. Blossom smiled at me wider and she took my hand, pulling me out of the lab and into the kitchen.

"Your brothers said it tasted really bad," Blossom said, pouring me a glass of water and passing it to me. I drank it all in one gulp and passed the cup back to her. I was sure that none of it remained in my mouth but I could still feel the bitterness in there. Something told me that that had nothing to do with the antidote. At least, not physically.

"The taste isn't the worst part," I admitted.

"Do you feel different?" she asked.

"I'm so used to having my powers stripped off that having it feels different now," I said. "Though… now, I'd never get them back, right?"

Blossom shook her head. "I'm sorry… You're an ordinary human now so if you drank Chemical X, it'd kill you."

"Well, it's impressive that your old man was able to create something like that so quickly," I said, changing the topic immediately. I didn't want to think much about my stolen powers.

"Actually, it took him quite some time to create something like this," Blossom admitted. "He made it a few years back."

"So you've had it from since we were enemies," I gasped in complete surprise. "Why didn't you use it on us?"

"We didn't want to steal your powers from you… I mean, it's a part of you," Blossom said, shrugging a little. She leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed.

That was so like her. Though, I had to admit, she could have saved a lot of people and a lot of others if she had used it on us sooner. But that would make us hate her even more, no doubt, and it could have made us turn to other sources for powers. Even if Chemical X didn't work, HIM would still have been able to give us our powers back and it wouldn't make a difference. I didn't know if Blossom considered that or if she was just trying to be considerate by not forcefully stealing our powers. Whatever the reason, I kinda appreciated it.

I walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her, which Blossom warmly welcomed. I could feel her smile against my lips and as usual, her smile made me smile. While we pulled each other into a deeper kiss, I lifted her slowly by her waist. She was surprisingly light, even when I didn't have my powers. Blossom wrapped her legs around mine, pulling me closer. I broke apart from her, placing her down to sit on the kitchen counter.

"The kitchen counter again, huh?" Blossom mused. Her hands moved to my belt, her fingers lightly fiddling with the buckle.

"Someone seems to like it," I murmured, pulling her into a kiss again.

"It's a little open, though."

She had a point. "Where are your sisters anyway?"

Blossom pushed me away and stared at me for a moment, her eyes going wide. "Oh no."

"What?"

"The fair! I completely forgot about it!" she gasped.

"Fair?"

"The art fair! It's today! I told Bubbles I'll come after your appointment," Blossom said.

"Oh. Well, let's go," I said, taking a step back to make way for her to hop off the counter. "Boomer's there anyway."

"Really?" Blossom squealed.

"Yeah… I thought I'd go as well since he worked hard on it and I wanted to see his stuff," I admitted. "I didn't know it was today, though."

But knowing what had happened, it made sense that Boomer didn't bring it up to me. He probably thought I wouldn't come anyway.

Blossom grabbed my hand and threw the door open. She pulled me out of the house and slammed the door shut, without really bothering to lock the door (well, in the first place, who the fuck would break into the house of the Powerpuff Girls?). I mused over the thought that the door was unlocked the entire time and we were just about to do something in there a moment ago. What if someone had decided to come home? The likelihood of someone coming home through the back door was low but it wasn't a complete zero. Anyone could have opened the door and we both would have be caught. It was funny thinking about it but it definitely wouldn't be a laughing matter if it had really happened. Grinning at that, I followed Blossom as she led me to the library, where the art fair was being held apparently, our hands holding each other tight.

The library had always been a barren place but this time, it was practically a marketplace. The entire compound was swarming with visitors. Boomer had told me that the fair was a big deal but I had never expected it to be that big a deal. The sight of the people there was enough to completely throw me off.

"Bloss… there're a lot of people here," I said softly.

"Don't worry about it. Just stick close to me," she replied. "Besides, Ms Evans told me to bring you to places instead of keeping you at home. This is a good chance."

"Yeah, but Evans doesn't know that I'm bad with these kinds of things," I said.

"You should be fine," Blossom replied. "It might get a little stuffy so let's just see Bubs and Booms and get out of here. Are you okay with that?"

 _No. I want to get out of here now._

"Yeah, that sounds fine," I said instead.

Blossom probably wouldn't have forced me if I had resisted a little more but because I stayed silent, she started pulling me into the crowd, squeezing through the crowd and past all kinds of people. The thought of having people watching me and judging me again for everything I had done in the past get gnawing at me mind and I looked down. I hoped my hair was long enough to hang over my eyes but it seemed like someone had cut it at some point.

 _There are people watching me…_

At every person I bumped into by mistake, I found myself whispering soft apologies. I didn't want anyone to stop me and nag about me being rude. I didn't want anyone to stare at me till they found out who I truly was. I wanted to simply disappear into nothingness as just another person in the crowd.

But having a Powerpuff hold your hand was something that would eventually garner people's attention. As I walked deeper into the place, more people were staring and more people were probably judging. I couldn't tell if they recognized me because my hearing wasn't strong enough anymore to listen to their conversations. All I could do was hope that no one would know who I was.

 **Tough luck. Most of them probably know.**

 _Shut up. Shut up, woman._

 **Come on, Brick, why're you trying to shut me out?**

 _Go away. Get lost._

It was bad enough that people were watching me. I didn't need to deal with her.

"Oh! I know that person!" Blossom exclaimed. I felt her release my hand and start to push through the crowd towards someone.

"Wait!" I cried out, trying to follow after her, only to completely lose sight of her as people started pushing around.

 _No no…_

I was alone. I was alone in a place filled with people whom I didn't know. As I looked around, getting pushed about by people who were walking around, I realized that it was starting to get hard to breathe.

 _I need to calm down…_

I covered my mouth with one hand, breathing deeply, as I looked around, trying to find at least one familiar face. It didn't matter who. I just wanted someone who knew me and would at least be willing to help me.

 _Phone… I should call her…_ I started rummaging through my pockets, trying to find my phone. _Where is it? Where is it?_

I tried to recall if I even brought it along when I left the house in the morning but my thoughts were constantly being interrupted by people hitting me and glaring at me for standing in the middle of the walkway. I should at least find somewhere close to the sides to stand but as I looked around, I realized that I was in the open hall and the walls were far away, after swarms of people.

 _Fuck, no._

 **You know, Brick, with so many people here, anyone could be a plant from the government who's after you.**

She made sense. There could easily be someone who was like that.

 **Someone might be stalking you this entire time and they might be waiting till you're alone to nab you and bring you back.**

 _I don't want to go back!_

I looked around and realized that there were people giving me weird looks. They could be doing so because I was obviously freaking out in the middle of a hall or because they knew who I was but for some reason, the woman's reasoning was winning over me. I was convinced that somewhere, out there, someone was going to come after me. It could be that old woman a short distance off, shaking her head at me. It could be that man who stared at me a little too long. It could be those teens who were casting me dirty looks and whispering to one another.

 _Stop… I don't want to go back…_

When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I almost screamed, until I was flipped around and my brother's face came into sight.

"Hey, Brick! You came! I wasn't expecting to see you here," Boomer exclaimed happily, grinning widely. We stared at each other for a while and I could see Boomer's happiness start to ebb away as worry took over. "Hey, you alright?"

"No," I said immediately, shaking my head. "I think… I think someone's after me."

"Right," Boomer said, taking me by my arm and starting to drag me along with him. "We're getting some fresh air."

 **What if they're after him as well?**

"Booms… we need to go home," I said. "Now."

"Why?" Boomer asked. He didn't turn to me. He just continued pulling me along.

"Someone… might get us," I replied. "We should go."

"No one's coming after us, Brick. Blossom dealt with everything. We're safe," Boomer laughed slightly.

 _We're not, Boomer…_

If someone tried to get us, we couldn't even defend ourselves. If they got Boomer and I, they'll bring us some place and everything would start again. The darkness. The pain. The experiments. The torture. The fear. This time, Boomer would experience it as well.

My head was starting to hurt and I could hear the woman's voice mixed up with HIM's. It was hurting so bad till it was spinning and making me dizzy. Everything was starting to exhaust me. I just wanted to go home, back to my bed. I just wanted to lie down and scream, cry or just do something to let everything out. My nausea was acting up again and my stomach was hurting as well.

Everything was hurting.

When we were finally out in the open, I didn't feel any better. Boomer dragged me to one end of the flight of stairs and he pushed me to sit on the steps. At least, there wasn't anyone around us.

"Are you feeling alright?" Boomer asked. "It's my break now so I can sit with you if you want."

"We should go home. It's not safe here," I said.

Boomer frowned slightly. "Why? No one's gonna hurt us here."

"What if someone takes both of us and drag us off like they did to me?" I asked, turning to him. "I did all those stuff and you helped to break such a criminal out of prison. We're both in trouble."

"Alright, firstly, that was no prison," Boomer snapped, "and secondly, no one's going to find out about it. Bloss talked to the government or whatever and she made a deal that she'd get us to get rid of our powers. We're harmless kids now. Human rights apply to us. They can't take us in anymore unless we do something wrong now. Even then, we won't go to a place like _that_."

"But… you never know…" I whispered. "Back there, they went back on their words. Why won't they do it this time?"

"You're thinking too much into this, Brick. That won't happen. The girls won't let it happen, okay?" he said, sighing a little as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "Are you here alone?"

"No… I came here with—"

I was interrupted by the sudden ringing of Boomer's phone. He reached out into his pocket and pulled it out, answering it immediately.

"Hey, Bloss," he greeted. "Yeah, he's here with me… outside."

Blossom was looking for me, it seemed.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll keep an eye on him. I have ten minutes till the end of my break," he continued. "No rush."

Boomer hung up and he grinned at me. I tried my best to force out a smile as well. But to be honest, I was way too tired and my head and stomach were hurting really badly.

"You know, ever since the treaty, you've never really been honest with me about a lot of stuff," Boomer said. "I want to understand you, Brick, but it's hard when you're pushing everyone away."

"I'm not pushing everyone away," I grumbled. "I'm asking you to come home with me, aren't I?"

"You got a point there," Boomer sighed with a shrug. We stayed silent for a moment, until Boomer spoke up again. "Hey, remember when we stole that car in the past? We crashed it somewhere around here, didn't we?"

I frowned, honestly trying to remember. Nothing came up in my mind. "Did we?" I wondered.

"Yeah, we fought over who should drive and we ended up crashing. You smacked me in the head after that," Boomer chuckled. "That's probably why I ended up so dumb."

"You're not dumb… You're kinda amazing… Both you and Butch," I murmured. I pulled my legs up to my chest again, wrapping my arms around myself. "You guys are doing such amazing things… and… it feels like I'm being left behind. I don't know how to make friends. I'm only good at using my brain and that doesn't really help my social skills… I'm a complete idiot when it comes to dealing with people… I dunno… maybe I have social anxiety or some shit like that. Crowded places like this terrify me. People terrify me. I don't even know what I want to do with my life, yet I see you guys moving on ahead. It's so different… I always used to be so sure of myself and of everything. But now, I don't know anymore. I just want to stay in my room and never come out. Thinking that it was your fault that we ended up this way was somewhat bearable, but knowing that it was my fault makes me lose my mind. I don't know what to do anymore, Boomer. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up."

 _I can't believe I just said that._

The words were like a torrent I couldn't stop. I just ended up rambling on to him, but it didn't exactly address the actual thing that was worrying me. Even then, Boomer seemed to appreciate it.

"Is that so?" he chuckled flatly. "I… don't know what to say."

 _I wouldn't either._

"Hey, Boomer!" Some guy I could recognize as one of Boomer's art club buddies waved at him. "We have some kind of emergency here. A little short on manpower. Could you give us a hand?"

"Erm… I don't know," Boomer said, looking over at me for a short while. "This is kinda my only break."

"Dude, we're fucking understaffed! Everyone's sacrificing their breaks!"

"Go ahead," I murmured. "I'll be fine."

"But—"

"I'm fine," I cut in. "Blossom's coming. Go ahead."

I didn't look at him but I knew that he was staring at me worriedly. Eventually, he got up and headed over to his friends.

 **What if those people get him?**

 _I don't know… but it's not like he was listening to me in the first place._

 **If he dies, it's your fault… just like back when you were defeated.**

 _You know nothing about that._

 **Actually, everyone knows.**

My eyes widened at her words and I got up, looking around.

 **I'm sure everyone actually knows about how you were the one who was defeated first, about how you were threatened and about how you begged for your life.**

Something felt really off. I really couldn't trust anyone there. If everyone knew about that, maybe they knew about what I did as well.

 _I can't trust anyone here._

No one was looking directly at me, yet I could feel gazes on me. People were watching me. Why wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they stare at the spectacle that I was— the fool who caused his own destruction along with so many others?

 _I need to get out of here._

Without really thinking much, I broke off into a sprint, running towards the direction of my home at top speed. But without my powers, my stamina was complete shit. The sun was shining brightly and engulfing me completely in heat. I was starting to sweat from both the heat and the pain in my head and stomach. Running was stealing oxygen from my lungs and it wasn't helping with my headache. After some time, I ended up falling to my knees, panting hard and trying to catch my breath. My shins were screaming, the muscles feeling like they were on the brink of tearing. I was drenched in my own sweat. It seemed like I just stepped out of the shower.

 _I need to get home… I need to get home…_

I tried to get up but the moment I looked up, I caught sight of the park that I had destroyed and the memories of the incident started flashing in my mind, making my head hurt even more. I didn't want to remember anything. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to my room, to lie on my bed and to go to sleep.

I tried to get up again and almost fell, only this time, someone caught me.

"I tried to look for you. What happened?" Blossom asked once I looked at her. "I saw some friends of mine and I accidentally let go of your hand. I tried to look for you but I lost you in the crowd. It was way too crowded for me to suddenly fly without pushing anyone over. I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "I want to go home… Get me home," I whispered urgently. "Please."

"You look like shit," she sighed. "Come on, let's go home. I'll call Butch to get you some food. You need to take your medicine soon anyway."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Shut up," she snapped. "It's me who should be saying sorry."

* * *

 _I want to hug Brick. I feel so sad for him. Two more chapters to go till the end. I'm so bitter about this. :( Thank you to all of you who have been supporting this and leaving reviews. I really feel so happy that you guys enjoy this story! I know that I just updated this recently but since I had this chapter written out already, I decided to upload it anyway! :3_


	19. Chapter 19

I could hear Blossom and my brothers arguing outside of my room. They probably thought I was asleep but I was completely awake.

"Why did you even bring him to the fair?" Butch complained.

"I didn't know he'll freak out that way," Blossom sighed. "Ms Evans said he needed to go out more. He suggested going and I was fine with it. I guess I should have let him off when he said he was uncomfortable. I'm really sorry."

"He thinks that someone might be coming after us… to bring us to that place," Boomer said.

"His condition is worse than I thought," Blossom groaned. "It probably got a lot worse after whatever they did to him… I'm sorry guys. This is all my fault. I should have stopped them when they tried to take him. I should have tried to find out more about the whole thing… He was… I actually thought that he might have gotten better before he got caught.

"It's not your fault," Butch sighed. "Really, it's those people. You tried to help him even though you had no reason to."

"Is there anything we can do? What did the psychiatrist say?" Boomer asked.

It seemed like Evans had gotten in touch with Blossom about me. "Nothing much," Blossom replied. "I told her what happened at the fair and she told me that it's normal for him to feel that way. That is, if what happened in the facility was traumatizing enough, which I believe it was. It's not a disorder or anything that we should worry about… yet. It's hard for her to really tell what's going on with him because he didn't say much, aside from hearing voices in his head."

"But won't that tell her enough?" Boomer asked.

"Not exactly. Quite a few mental illness have that as a side-effect— schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression… stuff like that," Blossom said. "For all we know, he might not even be ill and HIM might just be messing with him."

 _Schizophrenia… Bipolar disorder… I really must be going insane._

"What do we do now?" Butch asked.

"I don't think there's anything we can do besides make sure he goes for his appointments and takes his medicine," Blossom said.

I rolled over to my side and pulled a pillow closer to me. As I hugged it tightly, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. In the darkness of my closed eyes, I could see images flashing of things I didn't want to remember. I opened my eyes again, staring straight forward at the lamp that was on my table. My book laid in front of it, just as I had left it there some time back. Even though I did feel a lot better since Blossom and the rest got me out of that place, I hadn't found any motivation to read at all.

I hadn't found any motivation to do anything, actually.

 _Well, it's not like it's been a long time._

I heard the door opening and I glanced towards it. Blossom walking in, holding a few glass bottles and a glass of water.

"You're awake. Here, take these." Blossom placed the bottles and glass down on the bedside table and started taking some of the pills out. I sat up in bed and silently took the pills she passed over to me, washing them down by drinking the water from the glass.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

I shrugged. I was feeling like shit, just as I had been feeling for a long time. I looked up at her. "Do you think I'm crazy?" I asked.

Blossom frowned. "What's this about?"

"I heard you talking to my brothers. Evans mentioned stuff like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, didn't she? Do you think I have them?" I asked.

Blossom shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know much about psychology. Just enough to tell that there's something wrong with you."

 _Of course._

I threw myself on my bed and pulled my covers up to my chin. I rolled over so that my back was facing her. I knew that there was something wrong with me but I didn't want to hear anyone say it, especially not Blossom. Even though I was trying to make it seem that I was annoyed with her, Blossom didn't really care. She floated over me and lowered herself onto my bed, slipping under my covers so that she was facing me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Is dealing with me a burden?" I asked instead.

"No—"

"I know it is," I cut in. "Boomer left the fair early because of me, right?"

"Yes, but you're not a burden," she sighed.

Boomer worked so hard for that fair. Art meant everything to him, yet he pushed it aside the moment he heard that something was wrong with me. Why would he even do that? Why would he just throw away his passion for _me_?

 **Why, indeed?**

The woman was speaking in a sing-song voice, mocking me for what I had been through and for what I had caused my brother. She was laughing at me for freaking out in the hall, for running off suddenly and for falling to my knees while struggling to breathe. I made a spectacle of myself and she wasn't going to let me forget that whoever saw me would remember my pathetic display. She was menacing, condescending and hostile as usual. Even when she wasn't physically there, she had me completely at her mercy.

I pulled the covers tighter around myself, my mouth accidentally letting out a sound that resembled a whisper. Blossom reached over and pulled me towards her, pressing my face into the curve of her neck and wrapping an arm around my body.

"Sleep," she said.

 _And see her in my dreams again? No way._

I shook my head and Blossom merely held me tighter. "Sleep," she repeated. "I'll be here when you wake up."

I doubted it.

But even then, I found myself starting to get sleepy. I figured that was probably a side effect of one (or some) of the pills I had taken. Blossom did mention that the doctor mentioned that I needed to rest. When I fell asleep, I had the same dream of the woman. I was still bounded to the bed. She was still as seductive as before. I enjoyed whatever she did while hating it again. The only difference this time was that as I had already seen that dream, I didn't end up waking up with a start. I was so used to it that it didn't scare me anymore. If anything, it just disturbed me. Though I have to admit, I don't know what exactly about it disturbed me— the same events in the dream, the same setting of the dream or even just the fact that it was the same dream over again. My eyes opened but it was too dark to see anything. Maybe it was because I was pressed against something…

Someone.

Blossom was still there. She was still holding me, though she seemed to have dozed off as well. I shifted slightly, moving back a little so that I could look up at her face. After a moment, I pulled away from her and sat up, watching her as she slept. Her body didn't move much, aside from heaving a little as she breathed. She looked so peaceful in her sleep— the complete opposite of how I felt in my sleep. But even then, I didn't feel any bitterness towards her. She had done too much for me for me to hold much against her.

If it wasn't for Blossom, a lot of things wouldn't have happened and a lot of worse things would have happened. If it wasn't for her, I might have died back then when I took the pills. If it wasn't for her, I would have known what it felt like to be close to someone else. If it wasn't for her, I would still be stuck in that place as those people had their way with me.

 _If it wasn't for Blossom…_

I reached towards her and ran my fingers through the strands of her hair. I could feel my body stiffening, my heart racing and my fingers trembling as I watched her. Something about her made me feel unusual, though in a good way. It was a relaxed, carefree kind of a feeling— something that I doubt I had ever felt before. I was just so grateful to her for all that she had done and so thankful just to have her in my life.

I never wanted her to leave.

Blossom probably wasn't too deeply asleep and my actions woke her up. Her eyelids fluttered opened and she frowned, before looking up at me.

"I didn't expect you to really stay," I admitted. I lay back down, turning to my side so that I was facing her.

"I didn't expect myself to fall asleep," she said, blinking her eyes to wake herself up. "Did you sleep well?"

"No."

"That dream again?"

"Yes. It doesn't scare me anymore but… I still hate it," I replied.

"I do too," Blossom said, pouting a little. "Why're you dreaming of her out of all people?"

It took me a moment to detect the jealousy in her voice and that she meant her statement more as a joke than a serious comment. I tried to smile at her. I didn't know if I was really smiling but Blossom grinned back, moving closer to me We fell silent as we stared at each other, our gaze burdened by the weight of many unspoken words— mostly mine, I suppose.

"You know… You kinda have a pretty smile," I commented awkwardly, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I know that," she said plainly. "If that was you trying to flirt, you're gonna have to do better. Millions of guys have said that to me."

"None of them succeeded in getting you in bed though," I pointed out lazily.

"Well, you didn't compliment me on my smile to get into my pants," Blossom chuckled.

I frowned slightly as I thought back on our interactions. "Wait. So what did?"

Blossom shrugged. "I always thought you'd be someone good in bed," she said.

"Always? You mean like since I was trying to kill you and all?"

"You being bad didn't change the fact that you're hot," she replied. "Though it was only recently I noticed how hot you actually are and started appreciating it."

"Would you have fucked me in the past though?"

"I can ask you the same question," Blossom said, her mouth growing into a smirk. She inched closer to me and pushed me to lie flat on my back before crawling over me. She face hovered over mine, only inches apart. Her hands were pressed flat to my pillow on each side of my head. "Maybe we should finish what we started in my house… or maybe… we should try something else."

 _Why was she so sexy even when dressed in a pink hoodie and shorts?_

Blossom sat on my thigh— how was she so freaking light?— and started to undo my belt buckle and jeans. Just her sitting on me and staring at me the way she was was making my heart race and I could feel my jeans go a little tighter. Blossom started pulling down my zipper and I sat up straight.

"Wait. What are you going to do?" I asked.

"I think you know what I'm going to do," Blossom said, raising her eyebrow.

I did and I could feel a mixture of boyish anticipation and apprehension bubbling up inside of me. No one had ever done that to me before and to think that Blossom out of all people would even initiate something like that was unforeseeable. I held my breath as she leaned forward, my mind going completely blank aside from wondering why in the world she would even do that on me. But eventually, that thought faded off as well. I was overcame with just how right and good it felt. I let myself fall back on the bed with a soft cry and I could feel Blossom smirk at my actions and voice. I pressed my arm over my face, hiding my face mainly because I was sure the expression I had was a pretty embarrassing expression.

Blossom was moving around in a way that was making me hard to keep my voice in. Even as I moved my arm downwards and bit onto it, I could still hear my muffled cries. It was embarrassing to no ends, especially since I didn't know how loud I was. What if either Butch or Boomer heard me or decide to walk in? How would they react? How should I react to them walking in? What would they think of us? Unnecessary questions burned in my mind, confusing me to no ends.

Eventually, the paranoia and fear of being caught faded off and like before, I found myself enjoying the easygoing feeling I had whenever Blossom and I were intimate (though we weren't exactly having sex this time). It was strange but when I was with her like that, nothing else mattered but the sensation of feeling each other. I could easily forget everything that I had been through and everything that I feared and fretted over. Before I knew it, this was something I really wanted. It was more than a desire, more of a need.

"Wait… Not too fast…" I groaned. My other hand was gripping hard on the bed and I couldn't really control the movements of my hips. Blossom didn't reply but I could hear and feel her chuckling as I started to lose control. It felt like it wasn't long enough when I gave in to the pleasure and reached a high. My hips surged upwards and I bit hard onto my arm, till visible marks formed on my skin.

 _Fuck fuck fuck._

I cursed under my breath as I tried to get over it and orientate myself again. By the time I got ahold of myself, moved my arm away from my face and opened my eyes, Blossom was sitting up and looking at me with a smug grin. I raised my head slightly down at myself and realized that my pants were readjusted and buckled up again.

 _I didn't just imagine that, did I?_

"Did you… erm… you know…"

"I might have," Blossom said frankly. "Well, it was kinda hard since I've never done it before. I don't think I did too bad since you looked like you were pretty into it."

"I wouldn't know if you were bad," I pointed out. I closed my eyes tightly and let me head drop back onto the pillow, trying to catch my breath. I could feel just how hot my body was (temperature wise) but I didn't actually have a problem, especially not after how good and right it felt. Blossom climbed off me and threw herself beside me. We lay in silence again.

"I like doing this with you, you know," she admitted.

"What? You like giving me a blowjob?" I asked, opening a single eye and looking over at her.

"Not that," she scoffed. "I mean the whole thing… But it's not something friends normally do."

"Do you want to stop?" I asked. I could feel my heart start to pound. Just as I realized how much I needed this, there was the possibility of it ending. "I don't want to stop."

"Me neither… Maybe our status should change… Friends with benefits, perhaps… or maybe… more," she said. I turned to my side to look at her and I could see her looking at me with her pink eyes wide, her mouth curved into a smirk. My heart started racing again, even though it had just calmed itself down. Blossom was being way too smug about it.

"More? But we barely know each other," I pointed out.

"What are you talking about? We've known each other since we were five," she said. She reached out and ran her hand through my hair, twirling some strands around her finger. "I don't know things like your favourite food and singer but I do know who you are as a person. I know you're scared. I know you're broken. I know that you feel like everyone hates you and you're worried that you'll never fit in. I know that in desperation, you act before you think. I know that you think your brothers don't care about you but you care more about them than you'd ever admit. I know… that you need _this_ just as much as I do."

"Why… do _you_ need this?" I asked. "You can do this with any guy, I'm sure."

"It's tiring being the town's biggest good girl. Sometimes, I want to let go too," she said, playfully tilting her head a little. "Where else can I do this but with the town's biggest bad boy, right?"

It's too ironic how she's so seductive even while being the 'town's biggest good girl'. As I pondered over her words, I realized just what she meant and it wasn't something that surprised me. In fact, I would say that the two of us were in rather similar boats and all our fears and problems were caused by the same things— people's expectations and opinions of us. Just like how everyone expected me to be the evilest of humankind, they expect Blossom to be the best. We weren't seen as our own individual beings. We were statements made by our society—the kind of people parents would look at and tell their children, "See that girl over there? Be her. See that boy over there? Don't be him."

Blossom was just like me and it was with bitterness that I realized how selfish I had been at times. I wasn't the only person who had it tough. I wasn't the only person who was confined by people's perceptions of me. Just like how Blossom was the only one who managed to see past everything, perhaps, it was only with me where Blossom could discard those things about herself as well.

I didn't mind if Blossom got seductive and mischievous at times. I wouldn't be bothered if she skipped school and hung out in clubs. It didn't matter to me if she hung out with people like my brothers and I.

But Townsville probably did.

Those things wouldn't change who she was as a person, but they would ruin the city's model of the best kind of human being. Maybe she was in a worse position that I was in. When you're the scum of society, nothing you do can make people see you worse than they already did. But when you're the cream, one small fault will cause you tumbling down.

It probably shouldn't have come with a surprise that we were attracted to each other. I had to wonder if it was the same with our siblings.

But at the same time, how did we end up so different? Why was I a wreck when Blossom was so strong? Or was she only acting to be strong? Deep down, was there a part of her that was a broken as I was? I wanted to know. I wanted to find out.

If possible, I wanted to help her… just like how she was helping me.

 **What can you even do?**

"I'm no longer the town's biggest bad boy," I pointed out with a scowl. I ignored the woman's voice but I could still hear her snickering.

"You have been, are and will always be the town's biggest bad boy to me," Blossom replied. "No matter what happens, no matter what people do to you, who you are will never change."

I bit my lip slightly as I stared at her, really not knowing how to reply to her words.

"Do I have to spell it out to you?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"What?"

"I'm saying that we should be more than friends… I mean, we're already acting that way, right?"

 **Sure, you're acting that way when she betrayed you and told everything about the two of you to them… or how about when she didn't stop them from taking you in?**

 _Shut up._

 **I have a point, don't I? You don't deserve her. You'll just taint her. You want to help her? Don't make me laugh!**

 _You know nothing._

 **Oh. So you do want her.**

 _Go away._

 **The boy who dreams everyday about a much older woman fucking and torturing him wants the most innocent girl in town. This is hilarious. This is too funny. Do you think she can meet up to what you want? She can't tie you up like I can. She can't hurt you like I can. You want that pain, don't you?**

 _Stop it. I don't like those things._

 **Of course you do… because they're disgusting… just like you.**

"Brick," Blossom raised her voice a little sternly and I snapped out of my trance. Blossom had sat up at some time and she was bent over me, her hand pressed down on the pillow. "You're zoning out."

"R-really?"

"What is the voice in your head telling you this time?" she asked.

I didn't know how she knew. Initially, I didn't really want to tell her but from the way she was staring at me, I knew she wasn't going to let me off the hook. I shrugged and tried to play it off as something that wasn't bothering me. "She's saying that someone as disgusting as me can't possibly deserve you and that there is no way you can satisfy my desires."

Blossom raised an eyebrow. "I think I satisfied you pretty well," she scoffed.

"Yeah but…"

"And don't go around thinking that I'm some pure soul to be preserved and never tainted. Prior to all this, I think I was more messed up than you were," she said. Blossom sat up and looked down at me with a smile and I knew that she could tell that I didn't fully understand her words. "You may have killed someone recently but do you know when I first killed someone?"

"No… When?"

Blossom narrowed her eyes. "When I was five, I killed you, remember?"

"Yeah, I know… not that I remember much of it. What about it?" I asked. "I was evil." It took me a few seconds to realize that I was talking in past tense.

"The act of taking away one's life is evil no matter how you look at it. Even if I killed to protect, that doesn't change the fact that I killed someone," Blossom pointed out. She climbed over me, straddling me so that she was staring right at my face. We were so close, just inches apart, and a part of me wanted to reach forward to touch her. "So Brick, ignore that voice and tell me… What do _you_ want?"

"I want… I want…" Blossom was staring at me, her intense gaze making me tremble the words were right on the tip of my tongue, yet I couldn't put it into words.

 _You. I want you._

I reached forward and pulled her closer. Blossom grinned before crashing her lips down on me, the sudden force of the kiss actually taking me aback. Blossom grabbed me by my clothes, pulling me up so that I was partially sitting up. My mouths opened, our tongues meshed and our hands ran over each other. Blossom broke apart and pushed me down on the bed before pressing herself against me again. We continued making out on the bed, with neither of us making any attempts at stopping or going any further.

 _I want this._

 _I want her._

From the way she was touching me, I knew that our feelings and desires were mutual. I knew that she wanted me as much as I wanted her and while I needed her presence beside me, there was nothing keeping Blossom beside me aside from the fact that she wanted me to be there.

 _Blossom wants me… why?_

Blossom pulled away slightly to look at me, her pink eyes staring into my red ones and I ended up thinking back to the first time we got intimate, right after I unintentionally tried to kill myself. Blossom wasn't looking at me the same way anymore. Her eyes weren't filled with the pity and worry she had back then. It was different this time. She still looked worried but mostly, there was this soft and tender look which made me feel really warm and calm. It was a look that I wanted to see more on her face, but something I wanted to be the only one to see.

"This expression looks good on you," Blossom murmured and for a moment, I confused myself over who actually said it because I was thinking the same thing about her.

"I could say the same thing about you," I replied.

Blossom grinned and climbed off me, getting out of bed and stretching slightly. Blossom picked her phone up from the table and looked at it for a moment, before turning to me. "It's late. You should eat something," she replied.

"What time is it?"

"Seven," she replied. If that was the case, I must have slept pretty long considering that we went for the fair at one. I got out of bed as well and followed Blossom as we left the room, my mind reeling from the conversation we just had.

Outside, my brothers were both in the living room, sitting on the couch and watching television. When we walked in, they looked up and immediately got up. Boomer's eyes were wide open as he looked at me.

"Brick! Are you feeling better?" he asked. I nodded and flashed him a slight smile, which made him smile back in return, in relief. Looking at him, I realized he was still wearing the purple polo tee from earlier on— the uniform for those helping out at the fair.

"Why did you leave the fair early?" I asked.

Boomer furrowed his brows a little. "Butch told me that something happened and I got worried so I came home."

"You worked so hard for it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, then why would you just throw it away like that? You love art. You put everything into all those artworks. You worked so hard. Why would you just let that all go to waste?" I cried out. It was making me angry. The thought that Boomer had to do all that because of me was just too disappointing for me to bear. I hated how pathetic I was.

"Why wouldn't I? I was so worried about you—"

"Don't be!" I cut in. "I don't want to be a burden on you. I don't want you to throw away all that for me. I'm not pathetic. I can take care of myself."

 _Lies, lies. I can't._

"But—"

"Shut up, Brick," Butch snapped, interrupting Boomer. "You're not pathetic but that doesn't mean that you're fine. You _can't_ take care of yourself, especially now. We're brothers. We have to stick together."

 _Stick… together?_

 **Yeah, sure. He wants to stick together now after everything had already happened.**

"Together? We've never been together ever since that fucking treaty!" I yelled. "You've never bothered about sticking together! I've been alone all the time while you hung out and were happy with the people who hurt me. You couldn't care less about me then. You joined in with them. You laughed at me. You… hurt me so much, Butch… and now you're talking about sticking together… You… You're the last person who should be saying that, Butch. The last."

The woman had a point. Butch was being hypocritical. My outburst was justified.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Brick. You never said anything about it. I thought it was all in good fun. I didn't know how you were even feeling. How am I supposed to know when you shut up about your own feelings?" Butch yelled back. "If I had known you were ill, I wouldn't have done it."

"So that's it? You're being nice on the account of my… _illness_?"

"Brick, wait," Boomer intervened with a sigh. "We were dumb, okay? We get that. But you made your own choices and you have to live with the consequences. Whining over the past isn't going to help anymore. What's important is that from now on, we have each other. We have to move forward."

"Boomer, you—"

"I never answered your question, right? Okay. Fine. So, the reason why I left the fair is simple. You're my brother. You're going through a hard period right now. I want to help you. I can't help but worry about you. You wanna know why, don't you? Well, here it is. It's because we're brothers. It's because we're the only family each of us have and I love the two of you a lot," Boomer said sternly."I love you, Brick, so I'm not going to leave you alone again."

 **What bullshit.**

"Love..? Don't… fuck with me…" I realized that I was talking through my gritted teeth and that my fists were clenched.

 _We can't ever love._

"It's true and it's the same for Butch," Boomer replied. He walked towards me and reached forward, pulling me into a hug. I stiffened at the unexpected action, not moving at all. Boomer's hug was warm and even though it was the summer, I didn't want him to let go.

 _Not even one another._

"Boomer… what…"

 _Evil knows no love. We are evil._

"I got scared when I saw you back at the fair, Brick. I don't want you to feel like that again," Boomer whispered. I could feel his hand at the back of my head, pushing me closer towards him, till my face was pressed against his shoulder.

 _Were._

"I'm so sorry Brick," I heard Butch whisper. I didn't notice him walk over. All I knew was that suddenly, he was by my side. I could feel his hand on my shoulder, gripping me tightly. His hold was strong and tight. Even though it was hurting my bony shoulders, I felt reassured a little.

 _We were evil._

If evil knew no love, then I guess we weren't evil after all. Because in all my life, there had never been another moment when I realized that I was loved. It made sense that after the entire predicament I went through, my brothers would treat me better. Their words seemed so superficial but even then, I couldn't help but reach out towards them and grab them. I couldn't help but welcome their words and embrace. I couldn't help breaking down in front of them, in their arms.

I had tried my best to be strong for them when we were young and alone. I didn't have to pretend anymore. Everything was out. The truth was out. I couldn't lie about my feelings, thoughts, emotions, desires, ambitions and opinions anymore. All I knew was that I always wanted to be held that way. I always wanted to know that no matter what happened, there will always be arms for me to rush back to— be it my brothers or Blossom's.

The two of them kept talking but I was too much in tears to really listen to what they were saying. I don't even know why I was crying. Maybe I was too touched. Maybe I was crying over my old pathetic life. Maybe I was crying for all the other times I should have.

Looking around, I could see Blossom, Boomer and Butch looking at me with different kinds of expressions— with different kinds of love. My world used to consist of me and me alone, with them just wandering about in the surface. But now, it felt like they were a part of it.

 **In the end, you're as superficial as everyone else.**

This time, the voice was my own.

* * *

 _:') One more chapter to go! Okay, good news for y'all:_

 _I might be making a sequel for Red Eyes but it won't be that long a story. It might be a oneshot or maybe a little longer than that. I could have added those parts into this story but for some reasons, I decided not to. I intend to give Red Eyes a happy ending so I don't want to ruin it with what I have in mind._

 _I was kinda insecure about this chapter, mainly about Blossom doing_ that _to Brick because, well, idk if it's something that's even imaginable. But ah wells, whatever. I'm still debating over whether I should write the next chapter in Blossom's perspective or Brick's so it might take awhile before I upload again. I apologize in advance for that!_

 _Once again, thank you everyone for all your support! I hope you have a great day ahead! :-)_


	20. Chapter 20

I woke up when I felt myself being tugged, probably from Brick pulling me closer. When I opened my eyes, reached towards my phone on the bedside table and took it, I immediately sat up in bed, realizing that it was half-past ten in the morning. Beside me, Brick groaned as my sudden action woke him up and he turned to his other side, pulling the covers up to his chin.

"It's time to wake up," I said, shaking him slightly before I got out of bed. Brick made some kind of muffled groaning noise and buried his face deeper into the pillow. "Brick! Get the hell out of bed."

"Alright alright. I'm up!" he yelled, though his eyes remained closed and his body remained still on the bed. Even if I was the strongest, smartest, most powerful human being on the planet, waking Brick up was still a close to impossible feat for me. Deciding to leave him be, I went to the bathroom to complete my daily businesses. By the time I was done— which was after a long time, to be honest— Brick hadn't moved even an inch. If anything, he had fallen back to sleep again. I walked over to him and roughly pulled the comforter off him.

"Wake up already!" Brick jumped at my voice and looked up at me, scowling. Then, as if to merely annoy me, he grabbed the comforter, threw himself back on the bed and pulled it over himself. He turned to face his back to me. "Come on, Brick, I have people coming over in ten minutes."

"My brothers and your sisters and some other people. I'm not going to get out of bed just to see them," Brick grumbled. He grabbed my pillow and pressed it over his head. "I'm gonna get back to sleep."

No amount of pestering was going to get him out of bed and I knew that. As I left him be, I decided to change into something more presentable and by that, I mean into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, holding it in place with a ribbon (as usual). By the time I was done, I heard the doorbell ring. Leaving Brick behind in the bedroom and closing the bedroom door, I went to answer the door.

At the door, I saw my sisters, Butch, Boomer and two others, Mike and Robin. Frankly speaking, all of them didn't need to be there. It was just Boomer, Mike, Robin and Bubbles who were there for work but Buttercup and Butch decided to tag along as well.

"Remind me what this is about again," I requested the moment everyone was in my living room, getting comfortable on the couch.

"English project," Mike replied. "We have to do a write-up on heroes so we would like to interview you."

"What about my sisters? We're a team."

"I'm in the group, Bloss, so we can't include me… and Buttercup, well… she's Buttercup," Bubbles replied. Buttercup made a face at this but I could tell that she was glad that she was being spared the trouble of being interviewed.

And so, I went through an interview very similar to any interviews I'd been to regarding my life as a superhero with the typical questions such as "What do you think about the criminals in Townsville?" and "How does it feel to be able to save the world?". B-oring.

My answers were so conventional and predictable that I could see the annoyance welling up in Bubbles' face. Clearly, she thought that the interview was a waste of time and that she could just write out the answers herself. I was sure that both Bubbles and Buttercup knew what my answers were going to be. We had been asked questions like those so many times before, ever since we were five.

But eventually, a question came up which I hadn't expected at all and something told me, Bubbles came up with it. Or maybe, Boomer came up with it. I doubt it was the other two.

"Just how far could someone go before he becomes unsavable?" Robin asked. "I mean, since you said that you think criminals should be given chances for reformation, is there a line that, once crossed, that person is forever gone?"

I looked at Bubbles and Boomer and I could tell that we were all thinking about the same incident. About the same person.

"No, there's no line." My answer came far too quickly and my breathing had paced up a little, taking Mike and Robin by surprise. I could see the curiosity in their eyes— what had caused Blossom to be so worked up? Even Buttercup and Butch were now looking at me strangely.

"So no matter what, someone can always be given a chance? What if he killed thousands of people? What if he made many more suffer?" Robin's words sounded harsh and accusing but I could tell that that wasn't her intention. She really did look merely curious.

"There must be… a reason why he did it right? Maybe… something's wrong with him. Maybe we can help him." My words sounded so weak and unconvincing and I realized just how selfish I had acted recently. I didn't have a concrete reason to save Brick because after all, he did commit such a huge crime. Did I save him only because it was him? Would I have done the same if it was someone else? Would I have gone to such an extent if it was someone like Mojo, Princess or Ace? I wasn't so sure how I would act then but I figured that I would have hesitated more.

"I think we're done with this," Boomer said quietly. "That last question's just an additional bonus question. We already have more than enough material."

"Yupp!" Bubbles agreed, looking like her cheerful self again.

"Anyway, where's my brother? Didn't he say he was going to spend the night?" Butch asked. Openly. In front of Mike and Robin.

"He's… in the room," I said, gesturing weakly to the bedroom. "Sleeping."

I think Mike and Robin probably sensed my awkwardness and they both started laughing. "Relax, we already know," Robin said amidst her giggles.

"What?"

"Everyone knows that the two of you're a thing. Don't need to hide," Mike added with a smirk.

I didn't know when people started talking about us but from the way Bubbles and Buttercup were looking away from me, I knew the source. Of course. It had to be them.

"Is he still asleep?" Boomer asked. "It's kinda late and he needs his pills."

"I'm sure he's up by now," I said. "Want me to go get him?"

"Nah, it's alright," Boomer replied. "We're going out for pizza… unless you want to come with us, though I doubt he would want."

I had to agree that Brick would definitely not welcome going out for lunch when Mike and Robin were around. I saw them off before heading back to my room, a strange uneasiness still present in my heart. I couldn't help but ponder over the whole incident with Brick again.

In my room, I realized that Brick was awake. He was seated in bed with a book in his hand. Hearing me enter, he looked up and closed his book, putting it aside before flashing me a smile. I climbed into bed and threw myself down, sighing softly.

"What's wrong?" Brick asked.

"Nothing… I was just thinking," I replied.

Brick furrowed his brows. "About what?"

"Everything… You, me, us… About what happened," I sighed and looked up at him. Brick was wearing an expression of complete confusion. "I was just wondering… If it was someone else who went through what you did, what would I have done?"

"You would save them as well, right?" Brick said.

"I don't know about that…" I admitted. "If someone like Princess Morbucks was caught, I don't know if I would go and save her."

"You would," Brick replied flatly. I frowned, not really believing his words. Brick grinned and leaned over me. "You would because that's the kind of person you are. It's what I love the most about you— even if someone as hideous as me was in trouble, you'd still help. That's why I can trust you completely, why I can be so comfortable around you and why I'm sure you'll always have my back."

Brick was so close and his words were so warm. I was probably blushing. I glanced away and pouted a little. "Since when are you so confident?"

Brick sat back and I got up, moving to sit beside him, our bodies pressing against each other. I felt Brick take my hand, squeezing it a little, as he leaned against me. His body was completely relaxed. I looked at him and saw a wide, peaceful smile on his face. He was looking at me as well, with a glint in his eyes that had only been appearing recently.

 _I want to protect this look._

I found myself reaching for him and as usual, Brick welcomed my touches and caresses. I never knew why I was the one who was mostly initiating anything between us. Most of the time when Brick started something, it was because he was either really happy or really sad. Maybe it was because of how different we were and of how sure we were of each other's feelings. I needed to hold him to assure myself that he was there and that he would always be there. Brick didn't need to be reminded, because he had already seen me face the world for him.

Brick was strangely relaxed as we kissed and made out. Maybe it was because I had gotten used to him being weak and frightened that whenever I didn't feel him trembling against me, it felt unusual. But it wasn't a bad kind of unusual. It was good because seeing Brick sure and confident of himself, seeing him smile and seeing him so calm and contented showed me that he was recovering and that he was becoming better.

It was proof that he was slowly starting to pick up the pieces of his broken self and fix them back together. Brick had used this analogy plenty of times, but mainly in a negative light. He spoke of how, no matter how hard I try to pick those pieces up and glue them back together, I would never return him back to the way he was, because there would still be blemishes and cracks still present. But even then, a cracked and blemished jar worked much better than a broken one. Also, cracks in themselves held their own versions of beauty. I remember once Bubbles broke her pot during a pottery elective we took in middle school. But instead of making a whole new pot, she glued the broken pieces together, added a thin layer of clay inside to close up any holes and then, used the cracks as the basis for her design. It was beautiful and she was the only one who got an A+ in that class.

I told this to Brick before as well. He didn't seem convinced but he couldn't argue back as well so I guess I won the argument, especially since he dropped the analogy from then on.

Somehow, Brick had gotten on top of me. He wasn't really doing anything except stare at me with a huge, playful grin on his face. Brick's body hadn't regained much weight but he was looking much much better than he did immediately after the escape. But even though he wasn't the hottest he had been, I found myself being drawn by his eyes, as usual.

His red eyes.

His deep eyes swimming with so many conflicted emotions and thoughts. The one thing he couldn't stand about himself. The one thing he hated the most in the world.

His eyes were the most beautiful part of him.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Brick asked, laughing.

"Nothing," I said. I didn't want to bring up what I thought about his eyes. I didn't want a disagreement so early in the day. I reached out and lightly stroke his hair, which was getting pretty long honestly. "I found out that news about us being together is out."

Brick blinked and I could easily see his shock. "What?"

"Mike and Robin mentioned that everyone knew about us being together," I admitted.

"That's… I don't know. It's bad, right?" he asked. "I mean, for people to associate you with me…"

I could imagine how most people would react. As much as I didn't want to be bothered by it, I was. But it wasn't that big of a bother to change my mind about Brick. "It doesn't matter."

Brick didn't seem convinced. "You sure? I mean… out of all boys… Maybe someone else would be better suited for you."

"Really? Like who?"

"I don't know… Some really smart, law-abiding guy who's well-known and admired just like you are."

Now, I was frowning. "That sounds a lot like my ex."

Brick's eyes went wide. "Your ex? You never mentioned him."

"You never asked."

"I don't know… I thought it was common to mention your ex at least when you get into a relationship," Brick murmured bitterly. "So… what happened?"

"We broke up."

"Yeah, no shit."

"Because of you."

"Huh?" Brick sat up straight at my words, completely confused. "What? You mean it was that recent?"

"No, it was some time in middle school," I replied. "It's just that every time we were out on a date, I had to leave because you were causing trouble somewhere. He got so annoyed, he told me to just date you instead and dumped me."

Brick blinked a couple more times before he grinned for a while and doubled over, laughing hard. He threw himself beside me on the bed, laughing so hard that he couldn't even form the words he wanted to say.

"He… dumped you… What… a fucking… loser…" Brick was laughing till his breathing almost sounded as if he was wheezing. He brought his hand up to his face, wiping off the tears that were gathering in his eyes. "My stomach hurts… This… is so funny…"

"Brick!" I scolded playfully and he opened his eyes and sat up, trying his best to compose himself. I was trying to be pissed off with him (I mean, even though we broke up, that guy and I were still friends and Brick was blatantly mocking him) but I couldn't find myself getting angry at Brick because he was laughing so hard, much harder than I had seen him laugh before. And seeing him laugh till his stomach was hurting, till he was tearing and till he couldn't speak properly, I couldn't find it in myself to ruin that moment because I realized just how happy Brick was lately.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" he wheezed. "It was just too funny. That moron was jealous of me. Me."

"He wasn't jealous— "

"He was totally jealous," Brick insisted childishly. "He's jealous that you spend more time with me than with him. Even though we were obviously trying to kill each other… Well, whatever it is, his wish came through."

"Wish?"

Brick flashed me a smile again. "We got together."

I found myself smiling back at him. It wasn't something I could resist. Whenever Brick smiled, it made me feel warm. I was so used to Brick being upset and depressed that even the slightest hint of life in his eyes was enough to rejuvenate me. Nothing made me happier than seeing him happy, as cliched as it sounds. But the truth was, Brick deserved to be happy. He deserved to smile and laugh with friends and family, just like anyone did. He made mistakes in the past but the way people treated him wasn't just. Maybe, if me being by his side made him smile that much, it would show a different side of him to everyone else. Maybe, it would make everyone realize that the criminal aside, Brick really was just a normal, broken boy who had dreams and ambitions he couldn't achieve.

I wanted them to see him that way. I wanted him to be accepted. I wanted Brick to find his happiness.

 _I want to protect his smile._

"By the way," Brick said, completely taking on a serious front. "I did some thinking and… I was thinking that… maybe I might consider going to college. Maybe."

"What?" That was unexpected. Even though I was spending so much time with him and I could honestly see him recovering, I didn't expect that at all.

"I mean… both my brothers have their plans out for after graduation. Boomer says he's going to some art school or whatever and Butch is trying out for some soccer scholarship. I might as well try out for something and my academics is probably the only thing I can have hope in," he sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"That's… That's great, Brick! Really! I'm glad!" I replied.

"I don't know what I want to do after that but for now, I guess this is good enough," he continued, smiling sheepishly from my comment.

"I'm proud of you, Brick," I replied softly, reaching out to cup his face and pull him closer to me, almost kissing. "I feel so happy for you."

Brick blinked for a moment before turning away and I could see his cheeks reddening a little. "Really? Ah… I… Thank you very much."

"Well, someone's getting flustered," I teased. Brick turned to look at me with a small smile.

And for quite some time after that, we just sat staring at each other with smiles plastered on our face. As usual, with each other, nothing else seemed to matter. We were washed with feelings of contentment and elation and I just couldn't help but think to myself about how much I treasured what we shared or even, just how much I treasured him. Right at that moment, all I could feel was the love and care I felt for this boy who was once my enemy. It didn't matter anymore what we were in the past. All that mattered was the present and I wanted it to remain that way forever.

It will stay like that forever… wouldn't it?

* * *

 _Guys I'm really sleepy so if there's any errors in my writing, please bear with it. I just really wanted to get this chapter out because I might not be able to do so very soon since some stuff came out and I might get really busy. As you all know, this is the final chapter so I just want to say how glad I am that all of you stuck around till the end. Thank you so much! I love you all, like no kidding. But as you guys know, this isn't the end of me so look forward to more stuff. However, before I go with either of the plots I mentioned earlier, I will be doing a short sequel to this as I try to figure out where I want my other plots to go. Planning is essential my friends and I want my new story to be as good or even better than this. So, yeah, do look forward to that._

 _I know that this chapter isn't as long and as well-done as the rest but I hope this ending makes you guys happy. I really wanted to do it in Blossom's perspective just to show the change in Brick. So... yeah, that's that. I hope you guys are too disappointed if it isn't as deep and raw as others. In fact, it seems too happy for me but that's what my intention was actually._

 _Also, since I'm at it, I thought, I might as well give y'all a preview to the sequel so here it is, an extract to Pink Hearts (the tentative title for now- might change this lmao)._

* * *

I didn't want to but I knew I had to come clean to Brick— to tell him what I knew and went through. But as Brick's eyes went wide, I knew that being honest was a huge mistake. I should have stayed silent, even if it meant that I was living a lie.

"But… why? Why would you—" I didn't cut him off. He cut himself off, dropping his words all of a sudden and staring at me in complete disbelief. He was disappointed. He was so so disappointed.

And heartbroken.

It was like I could see him shattering right in front of me and this time, the pieces were much too small to pick up. I wouldn't be able to save him.

"Brick, I had to do it. I had no other choice. I didn't want to sacrifice anyone for you," I said. It sounded perfectly alright when I thought about it but saying it out loud just made me sound like a selfish brat.

"But… But I thought you love me," he whispered. He looked away, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. His words that followed were spoken with so much pain dripping from his voice— so much pain that I could even feel it in my heart. "I would have done it for you. I would have taken a bullet for you, Blossom. If I had power, I would protect you as much as I could."

 _I know. I know that, Brick._

But it wasn't myself I had chosen to protect. It was the city. I couldn't take on what HIM had challenged me to because it would mean me losing my ability to protect the city. I could only keep the city safe by burdening Brick with the pain he had been feeling all the while— only now, amplified by my betrayal.

"I love you, Blossom. I love you so much. Why would you do this to me? Why? Why?" In my silence, his words had gotten louder, his pain had gotten greater. I wanted to just throw everything away and run over to his side, to throw my arms around him and to pull him into a tight hug and never let go. I want to climb over him and wipe away the tears like I had done in the past. I want to kiss him till he knew that everything was okay and that I will always be there for him. But I couldn't. The space between us was like a wall that was permanently parting us, with my betrayal and his pain enforcing its strength. I couldn't tear it down. No one could.

"I thought you love me, Blossom!" he screamed, looking up at me and giving me a full look at him. His cheeks were tear stricken. His mouth was parted open as he panted. His eyes were redder than usual. His eyes… His beautiful eyes were now filled with pain and disbelief and disappointment and anger and a whole range of negative emotions that I couldn't pinpoint. "I thought you loved me!"

 _I thought I did as well, Brick._

It was hard to look at Brick without breaking down myself and I immediately turned away— immediately turned to leave. Seeing this, Brick's voice took on a more desperate tone, calling out for me and begging me to explain. I realized that I hadn't said anything for quite some time. But I knew that the longer I stayed and the more we spoke, it would make it harder for me to leave. What if I decided to call HIM back and take on what he had told me to instead? What would happen then? I couldn't risk it. I needed to go.

At the door, I paused for a moment. "Goodbye, Brick," I said softly, though loud enough to hear. I didn't turn around. The only reaction I knew was a small hiccup from him. With that, I walked out and closed the door, leaving him in the room— leaving him all alone in that place despite the fact that I knew he didn't belong there.

Brick wasn't going crazy. He wasn't as bad as we all thought he was. It was HIM. It was HIM all along, for the most part. Yet, I couldn't say anything about it. Because as a superhero, my priorities laid in the larger population. Even if I had to sacrifice the man I love, I needed to do it.

 _I'm so sorry, Brick._

My apology, however, wouldn't fix anything.

* * *

 _With this, I bade y'all farewell (for the moment). Man, I'm tearing up. HAHAHAH :')_


	21. UPDATE ON SEQUEL

Hey guys! I know it's been a while... like quite a while since I ended this story and I know that I had promised another story. But since I still have _no idea_ where to go with them, I decided on writing this short sequel to Red Eyes. This isn't a chapter update or anything so I'm sorry to those of you who got excited. But then again, it's just me telling you about the sequel and asking you to check it out... It's kinda like an update. Lmao.

I'm going to stick to the title I had initially planned, "Pink Hearts". It sounds kinda lame but well, it's pink because it's mainly going to be told from Blossom's perspective and it's going to be about her relationship with Brick as it starts to fall apart and also how each tries to deal with it from their own, very different, ways.

So for all of you who have been following Red Eyes so dutifully, please do give Pink Hearts a shot and do feel free to review and favorite it!

Thank you so much and I wish everyone has a great day ahead! :)


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